Moments of Reassurance
by Brutal Let Down
Summary: New Orleans was a lie, and now Nick and Ellis are left to fend for themselves. How can Nick keep Ellis from losing it? And how can Nick keep his promises? Nellis.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not even sure how far I'll take this. Right now, though, it's marked as complete. If I get any reviews from anyone who wants me to continue, I might give it a couple more chapters.

I should **really** be finishing my summer projects before I go back to school on the 22nd e_e

**(BLD)**

They were fucked. That's all there was to it.

After fighting, and surviving, and all the bullshit they went through, it all turned out to be worth nothing.

The bridge in New Orleans had been bombed only minutes before they arrived. Only minutes.

They literally watched the fighter jets fire the massive explosives, and after they rushed to get there, their fears were true.

CEDA had failed them, and they were now left for dead, for the thousandth and final time.

"I can't...fucking...believe it..." the con-man finally spoke up, after almost half an hour of silence, as the four sat, defeated, on dead cars, on iron wrote benches or, in such a state of shock as Rochelle, simply on the road, and they listened.

"I can't...Fucking...Believe it!" Nick rose from his seat on the bench, his voice a hoarse yell, strangled with anger and pain, and hefted his crowbar into a nearby window that somehow managed to stay intact up until this point. As the broken glass clattered, Nick went on.

"After all the fucking 'New Orleans' _this_, and fucking 'New Orleans' _that_..." he moved his arms about, trying to get a point across that wouldn't matter in the end. He huffed, taking in his surroundings, bits of burning structure fluttering in the air as it landed at their feet.

"We finally fucking get here, and we're still gonna _die anyway_!" He screamed it to the top of his lungs, so the whole infected world could hear.

Ellis, who had been sitting on the hood of a Pinto, facing away from everyone, peeked his head around. His eyes were tinged red, and puffy. The trails of his tears were visible through the dirt that had been washed away by them, and created wet marks on the neck of his faded Tee.

He sucked in a breath, trying to come up with words to calm the con-man, but as he thought, he remembered there would be no reason to keep him calm, so he could fight another day. All the reasons for everyone's actions had suddenly been wiped out.

And on that note, "Goddamn it, Nick, I am officially done with yo _shit_!" Coach rumbled, looking his hard, defeated eyes at the gambler.

Nick turned and glared daggers at Coach, "Oh fucking wow! Look how much I care!" he roared, his shoulders scrunched high.

Coach lifted from the electric box he had been sitting on and started towards Nick. Nick smirked, "Bring it, Old man! I've been waiting a long time to kick your ass!" Nick took a stance, and Coach grumbled as he got closer.

Ellis, who had been watching them both, finally sprang up to put himself in between the two men.

"H-hey now..." his voice was tentative and slow to come.

Ellis' hand touched Nick's chest before he swiped it away, and Coach stopped just an inch before contact.

"Stay out of it, Ellis." Nick spat, still glaring at Coach.

The big man grumbled before turning away, "I'm not gonna stoop ta'ya level Nick." going to pick up his shot gun that he'd laid against the electrical box.

Nick snorted, "What ya'gonna do, go solo?" Nick scoffed.

Rochelle's head snapped up from the comment, seeming to come out of her daze.

"I don't care, just as long as I ain't got to stick with _you_ for another damn mile." Coach grumbled, his voice wavering a bit as he started back the direction they had come.

"Wh-what? Coach, what are you-" Ellis was starting to panic, until he was cut off.

"Hush, boy. This is my decision." Coach faced Ellis, his face tied in a knot of desperation.

"It was hard to get to this point...But now...I just cain't!" Coach yelled. It was the first time anyone had seen Coach so... out of character. He turned again, his head shaking shamefully. He hoped the good Lord wouldn't frown upon him for this.

Ellis' head turned to the sound of Nick. Laughing.

"I fucking knew it..." his face was in his hand, the other at his hip. He drew another breath and started to laugh, but even harder than when he began.

Rochelle stood with shaky movements. "Coach...Wait!" she picked up her rifle and sprinted after him.

Good, Ellis thought, she would be able to talk some **sense** into him. Tell him he's being irrational and that they should all talk it out normally. He watched as she caught up with him and they talked. And talked. And then she turned back around.

She ran back to Ellis, and he was getting panicked again when Coach wasn't coming back with her, but giving him a sorrowful look from far away.

Rochelle came back with tears in her eyes, and before he could ask, her arms were flung around him. She began sobbing profusely.

"Ellis, sweety, honey..." she began weeping again.

"Rochelle, wh-what's wrong?" he asked shakily.

Nick came up behind him, only by two feet.

"The family's splitting up. She's leaving you with me." he answered his question emotionlessly.

Ellis stiffened.

"No..." he began whispering, his arms slinking around her smaller form.

Coach and Rochelle both knew that Ellis couldn't ever be parted with Nick, for whatever reason, and it wasn't in anyone to actually leave Nick on his own, no matter how much of a jackass he acted to be.

The split was right down the middle, and it almost seemed to be pre-formed.

"Rochelle, no..." he squeezed her tight.

"Sweety, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" she nuzzled her face into his shoulder, wetting his shirt while a hand was clutched at the same material. Both their forms started shaking as they began crying again for the second time that day.

Nick sighed, throwing his hands up in the air and behind his head, not really sure why, but started walking in circles. His nerves were everywhere, and with an emotional separation with the group of people he'd been fighting alongside for who knows how long, it only served to give him a head ache. He needed a cigarette.

Rochelle started pulling away gently. At the feel of it, Ellis loosened his grip on her until his arms fell to his sides. Rochelle leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You-you stay _safe_, you hear me?" she swept back a few strands of hair that were obscuring Ellis' eyes behind his ear. It had grown considerably sense they had started their journey and was in much need of a haircut.

"I'm gonna think of ya every day." he sniffed a bit, and took the hand that had moved his hair into his own.

She smiled sadly, her eyes apologetic.

She hugged him again, but briefly, before she started walking, backwards, to Coach. As she got closer she finally turned and ran back to him.

Ellis held back another pained sob as he watched them. As they regrouped, they both turned around and gave a wave. Ellis waved back.

And they were gone.

Ellis fell into another mess of sobs, falling to his knees, face in his hands.

Nick stood behind him, watching his shoulders bob, his back lurched. He wasn't expecting the kid to get up right away so they could get the hell out of there, but the sun was setting fast, and he wasn't going to die in the dark because the kid was feeling abandoned.

So, he tried soothing the kid, to hopefully get him to hurry it up.

He got down on a knee beside him and started to rub small circles on his back. At first, it made Ellis jerk, his sobs stopping to stare up at him. But when he saw that Nick had a far off look in his eye, he understood.

"Come on kid. It's getting dark. We better find shelter."

Ellis shook with cold, and nodded once. He sniffed back all emotion as he stood and went back to the pinto to retrieve his hunting rifle and hat, which he had taken off in defeat to run his hands through his hair. He sighed heavily and shook his shoulders out, preparing himself to get back to business, at least until he had a moment to himself.

Nick nodded in approval. He looked back in the direction the others had left in and decided to go the opposite way, down the road. It would be the most awkward thing to have to run into them.

"Come on, this way." he realized he wouldn't need to be yelling anymore, now that it was just him and Ellis. The kid stuck to him like glue as it was, but now, it seemed if he were any slower, Ellis would be stepping on the backs of his shoes.

He didn't want to make the mistake and take them to the last safe house they were just at, and decided to get them to a place that was at least decent enough. Now, with Coach off their backs, he could do what he wanted.

He just hoped the big man hadn't been right all along.

"We're gonna take up one of these houses here." he commented. The infected that they had killed before stilled laid in crumpled heaps, strewn about on the hard road. The dead faces in different states of agony only brought the feeling of dread over them like a black rain cloud. Nick could slice the tension with a knife.

They came upon a house they had passed on the way to the bridge. It had two stories, and its door seemed to have been reinforced with something on the inside, but the people inside probably hadn't thought of the windows, because they were all busted in.

"Here, we'll block the windows and clear it out." Nick instructed, hopping into an open window. Ellis followed in soon after, wordlessly.

They began plugging off all infected they saw on both floors of the house, picking them up and tossing them out of windows. Soon, the house was clear, and Ellis set about ripping material from whatever he could to board up the windows. Nick finally just dumped out several book cases and started pulling it apart with his retrieved crowbar.

Ellis had found a box of nails underneath the kitchen sink and began to hammer away at the boards with the butt of his pistol. Nick was itching to comment on how dangerous and stupid it was to use his gun as a hammer, but the kid looked so fiercely at the task, he didn't want to set him off.

Soon, Nick was lugging boards up the stairs behind Ellis, now boarding up the upper floor. Ellis made quick work of the remaining two windows and as soon as he was done, he gave a sigh and wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. If it weren't for the fact that there wasn't a large warm hand clasping him on the back, telling him he'd done a fine job, he would have almost forgotten that it was just him and Nick now.

The smile that was about to grace his lips suddenly lost its courage at the thought.

His head fell forward and a sob escaped instead.

"Why..." he spoke softly. His shoulders began shaking as he folded into himself, wrapping his arms around his knees from where he had been hammering in the last nail.

Nick heard Ellis and turned from making suitable sleeping arrangements. There were only two rooms in the house, the one that was apparently the parents, and then the child's room. The child's bed was entirely too small for either of them, and the few things they had in the way of furniture were either stacked against the door, or stained with blood, and smelt disgusting.

Nick sighed when he saw the kid crying again, and now that they were officially out of danger for the night, there was no real reason to stop him.

"What am I gonna do with you…" he commented under his breath. He wasn't one for actually giving comfort at times like these, but he really didn't want to be a flat out jerk. He didn't want to make the kid anymore miserable now that it was just the two of them. Nick being a complete ass, plus losing two people the kid probably considered family, on top of a fucking zombie apocalypse…

"Ellis…" Nick kneeled down beside him and started taking his hands away from his face. At first, he resisted, trying to yank his hands free, but his attempts were weak, and he finally gave in.

Nick stood, pulling Ellis by one of his hands to stand as well, and once he was on two feet he guided the sobbing boy to the bed.

"Lay down, Kid." He mumbled to Ellis, pulling back the blanket so he could get under them.

Ellis' cries had diminished to slight hiccups as he followed Nick's instructions, curling up into a ball on the mattress as Nick laid the blanket over top him.

Nick couldn't help it and took Ellis' hat off and set it on the night stand, "You get some rest." Squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, Nick turned to go sleep on the smelly couch.

But, a hand tugging at his suit sleeve stopped him dead in his tracks, he turned back.

"N-Nick…don't leave me…please."

All the fear he'd ever seen was now on his face, wide eyed, chest heaving, and on the verge of more tears. Great, does he think just because everyone else was leaving left and right that he's going to leave, too? It was hard for Nick to deny that face.

"I'm not going anywhere." He murmured in the growing darkness. Ellis' gaze never faltered, and he held tight to the gambler still.

Nick sighed, defeated, and reluctantly started crawling onto the other side of the bed. Only until Nick lay down close to Ellis, their bodies barely centimeters from touching, did the younger relax back into the mattress, uncurling his fist from him. Instead of being able to take his hand back though, Nick was stunned into more silence as the hick brought his hand around himself and held it tight to his chest. Ellis then leaned his body into Nick, his face now submerged in the dark brown curls of Ellis' head.

Nick's whole demeanor softened when he heard and felt Ellis sigh in comfort. He let the kid have this moment, this moment of reassurance. Nick had a pretty good feeling there would be even worse moments that they would have to share as they were now down to themselves in this world. What they would do now, he had no idea. Maybe keep going west? Head north to where the frost of winter would hopefully slow the infected down?

Only with the light of morning would there be answers. Right now, though, there was only mind numbing sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

So, I decided to continue with it. :D I liked the feedback I got here and on DA, and I felt like I owe it to you now. I actually decided a while back to continue, but I honestly didn't know where to go, so there was just a really long time of brain storming and then planning, and then heavy procrastination. :I And then finally, here it is. This chapter is definitely longer than the last, and it's mostly a laid back chapter, meaning no fighting and what not. I wanted to give the boys a break ^3^

**(BLD)**

Nick, with an arm full of empty, slowly opened his eyes.

The sun had rose enough for it to be considered early afternoon, and with the only light coming from the cracks in the boarded up windows, it created a stripped, crookid pattern across the walls and floor. With the dazedness of sleep, it confused Nick enough to where he forgot where he was at the moment.

He glared at the rays then brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. What had happened last night?

It took him awhile to get his bearings back, but then was suddenly aware that Coach and Rochelle were no longer a part of his unit. As the reality sunk in for the second time, he sat back in the bed. In the darkness of the far side of the room, he sat, and thought for a moment.

Those two were really gone.

Nick's brow furrowed. He should've tried to make them stay.

He was so infuriated he hadn't given a shit at the time, but now, as he's realizing the task ahead of him and Ellis, he's also realizing they had about a chance as ice in hell. Their survival rate was cut in half.

What happens when they're both too banged up to help each other? What happens when they get attacked at the same time?

Or, God forbid, one of them gets lost…

It was amazing, all these things he was thinking of that he hadn't before. He'd left all that to the others, just as long as they got him to the next safe room. He guessed that's part of what drove them off.

Nick sat, awake and sobered, wondering just what in the fuck they were going to do.

…And where that kid got off to.

Last night didn't end when those two left, and Nick remembered that Ellis willingly (Or more accurately, forcibly.) snuggled right up with him. In the back of his mind a voice was telling him that there was something more going on there, but that voice was muffled by the more urgent voice screaming at him to get up and take a piss.

With a sigh and a cringe, Nick started to get out of bed, joints popping as he stood, and scratching. The door off to his right held a bathroom, and he made that his first point of venture. The day before, he hadn't bothered to look in there, but now, it seemed more inviting.

Of course, the lights weren't working, so he had to guess-timate how well of a job he was doing with using the toilet. When he was done, he patted around the counter and found a comb. It'd been a couple days since the last time he'd combed his hair, and he hoped when he was done he'd at least look like a sane person when he stepped out.

As he went to set the comb back on the counter, though, something sharp and pointy was suddenly in the meaty part of his palm.

"Ah, _shit_!"

Nick instantly jerked his hand away, the comb falling to the floor, and then something mildly heavy and metallic fell as well. He angrily shook his hand out then brought it close to his chest. He growled as he stormed out of the bathroom and then down the stairs, to where, hopefully, a med kit was.

As he all but stomped down the steps, his surroundings getting brighter as he descended, for a brief moment, a fraction of a second, an image of an empty living room came to mind. Of course, it was mostly his pessimistic ways that drove him to think such a thing, but he was relieved nonetheless to see Ellis sitting silently on the smelly couch.

A little _too_ silently…

Nick came over to the couch, which he noticed had been turned to face the window they'd stepped in, and found Ellis asleep.

"Heh…" Amused, he shook his head lightly. He wondered how long he'd been sitting there.

With the uninjured hand, he nudged Ellis on the shoulder, rousing him with little effort. Ellis' eyes opened slowly then he blinked a couple times before he started sucking in air for a big yawn. He stretched his arms out above his head, and as he exhaled, he smacked his lips a couple times.

He dazedly looked up to Nick, who had stood and watched this whole routine, "Mornin'." He greeted with a sleepy smile.

Nick smiled back to him for a second before going around to the kitchen sink. He thought he'd seen something down there when Ellis had been searching through it last night. On the counter, though, he saw that Ellis had pulled out all the food he'd found in all the cabinets and set them in neat rows.

"If you're lookin for a med kit, I got'em over here." Ellis called from the other room.

Nick sighed, not from annoyance, but from his aching body. If he ever got out of this mess, he'd probably come out looking like a giant scab.

He came back into the living room, and went to the other side of the couch. There sat two school book bags, one red, one a navy blue.

Nick bent and picked one up, "What'cha got packed in these things?" he asked, already unzipping it.

"Oh, just some supplies." Ellis answered, now stretching out along the couch. But before he could get too comfortable Nick swept his feet off and took a seat. Ellis grumbled lightly as he had to sit back up.

"Hm." Nick found a couple cans of fruits and vegetables, along with a shirt, a flashlight, some batteries, a lighter, a pocket knife, and band-aids. Nick quickly pulled out the band-aids and began administering the bandage to the tiny pin prick wound on his hand.

"So," he began to ask, "Why were you sleeping on the couch?" he asked it in a way that came off as purely curious. Although it bothered him a bit that Ellis was up and about without him…he wasn't sure why. The kids gone and scavenged by himself a couple times before, but there was always someone watching him, just standing right outside the door. Coach or Rochelle.

Ellis shrugged, "I woke up real early and didn't feel like wakin'ya, so I just…started to look for supplies.'' That was another thing. Rochelle had been carrying what little supplies they had left.

Just another reason for Nick to feel guilty.

He shook his head in understanding, "And you turned the couch, because?" another innocent question.

Ellis seemed to physically falter. Nick could almost feel him turn hard as stone.

"I…At first, I…" he looked down in his lap, his hat creating a shield for his eyes. Nick waited.

"I thought I heard somethin…Last night." The last part he whispered.

So he'd been up longer than just early in the morning.

"What'd you hear?" Nick asked gently. What could he have possibly heard to make him stay up all night? If it were an infected, he'd long sense picked it off, or simply ignored it. If it were something worse, he would have needed to wake Nick.

Ellis swallowed hard, and exhaled a shaky breath before answering, "Voices."

Oh.

Nick sighed, setting aside the book bag in his lap and propping his chin in his uninjured palm. The last thing he needed was Ellis waiting for the others to come back, because deep down, he knew they'd never see them again.

"How much sleep would you say you've gotten?" Nick asked smoothly. If the kid wasn't able to stay upright for a trek through the city, they'd be better off spending another day here.

Ellis slowly raised a hand to the back of his head, hesitant, and staling to give his answer.

"I guess…" Ellis began, but then paused for thought, although he knew exactly how long he'd slept.

"Two hours…?" he answered. How could _anyone _sleep after what happened? Most the time he'd spent crying some more, trying to listen for those voices again that were probably never there in the first place. Probably part of a dream that he mistakenly thought real. Not like he'd known what to do or say if it _were _Coach and Rochelle coming through. He just wanted it to be them so badly.

Nick exhaled, letting his arm fall from under his chin and into his lap, "Alright. Get some more sleep, and we'll leave out tomorrow morning." Nick instructed, now starting to take off his suit jacket. It was slightly uncomfortable to fall asleep in it last night, and now that he had the choice, he chose not to wear the thing anymore. There were three distinct gashes in its armpit, down the back, and actually tearing the right sleeve down the length to his elbow. There was only so many times that Nick could sit down and tie his right sleeve back up with twine, or whatever he could find.

He laid the article over the couch arm rest and started to stand, "Have you searched the place completely?" he asked, picking the book bag back up and plucking out the flash light.

Ellis thought for a moment before answering, "All the rooms, 'cept the bathrooms."

Nick nodded, "Go on upstairs. I'll be there in a sec."

Ellis gave one last glance out the window and got up, headed upstairs. Nick waited till he heard the door upstairs close shut.

Then he went to the window to take a long look outside. The sun was high, and he could see a few commons wandering about in the distance. There was no sign of any new dead infected, besides the few they threw from the house the other day. There was no sign anyone at all besides themselves had been through.

Kid waited all night for nothing.

With a heavy sigh, he headed in after Ellis.

He opened the door, but was suddenly frozen in place when he saw Ellis' arms over his head, taking his shirt off. It came off and he threw it in the corner, it hitting the wall then sliding to the floor. When Ellis saw the gambler in his peripheral, he turned slightly to look at him.

Before the kid could see his pause, he hurriedly went to the bathroom, "I'm gonna check in here…" he mumbled. It's not like he hadn't seen the kid shirtless before, but having too much eye contact with his chiseled body did annoying things to him.

He pressed the button on the small flash light and peered inside the now illuminated bathroom. But before looking for anything of use, he turned the light to the floor.

"A fucking tooth pick…"

On the ground sat a metal dental rod, with the thin hooked end covered in a small bit of blood.

Nick bent and picked it up, examining the device. He turned the flash light to the sink to see a whole set, the small rounded mirror, and a different looking pick off to the side in the carrier that held them straight up in the air. No wonder he stabbed himself with it. He set the pick back in its place and began to rummage under the sink.

He found an entirely unopened Johnson and Johnson med kit, the one that came in a clear plastic case, some hydrogen peroxide, cotton swabs, and a couple packs of unopened tooth brushes. He set all his items on the lid of the toilet and went to the medicine cabinet. To his utter delight he found a large orange prescription bottle of 800mg ibuprofen tablets.

The container looked to be three fourths full. When he was done gathering, he would have to remember to count them all out.

He also snagged a half empty bottle of liquid Tylenol.

Other than that, there were about a million other pills with names he's never heard of, and sense he had no way of telling what they were, he let them be.

He carried his load out of the bathroom and set them on the foot of the bed. Ellis had curled up in the bed again, his chest slowly rising and falling making Nick believe he was asleep again. Good.

He went back down stairs and retrieved their other supplies and the two book bags and brought them upstairs. He'd count and clean and then divide what they had between the two of them. Which, at this point, was very little.

He took a seat on the floor, gathered all their things in front of him, dumping out the book bags, and organized them in groups.

What they had for health supplies was in a pile near the bed. What they had for weaponry was near the door to the bathroom. Then everything else was set aside to handle with later.

Right now, the only fire arms they had were Ellis' Hunting Rifle, his pistol, and Nick's Magnum. The only other thing they had was Nick's crowbar. Nick let out a deep sigh, and got up. He searched on top of the dresser, which was clutter with junk and found a note pad. He quickly found a pen and went back to his spot on the floor.

He marked down _Weapons_.

He set the note pad and pen on the floor beside him and started counting out what ammunition they had. Nick was good for at least another day of fighting with his Magnum, that is, if he used his crowbar more frequently.

Ellis' supply looked even more pitiful. He had three more rounds worth for his pistol, and then two more reloads for his rifle.

Nick picked up his pad and marked _Ammo_.

A couple hours went by in this fashion, with Nick counting every little thing, marking down a grocery list of supplies, and cleaning their guns the best he could. It looked like ammo was going to be the number one priority at the moment.

They had used every single once of energy to get to that bridge and they hadn't bothered to stop and stock up. Why would they, when they were so close to rescue?

Though, Nick had a good idea of where they could go to find some. The thought made him all the more anxious to step out of their temporary sanctuary.

When he started going through the supplies Ellis had found, he noticed he'd already divided up what he'd found, because there was two of most everything.

Two shirts, two lighters, two pocket knives and an even number of canned goods between them, besides a half-eaten bag of wheat thins that were in Ellis' bag.

He set what was in each bag back in, and started packing the supplies he'd found along with it. He put each of the toothbrushes he'd found in each of the front smaller compartments. And now that he thought of it…

Nick stood back up, his legs aching a bit from sitting down in that position for so long and turned the flashlight back on. There was a tube of toothpaste in a cup that also carried two other toothbrushes. He plucked it out and went to turn back around, but then remembered something else. He slid the toilet paper from the holder on the side of the sink and went back into the bedroom.

He put the toilet paper in his bag and the toothpaste in Ellis'.

He stood back and sighed as he looked over their book bags. Now that he was done, he finally noticed how starved he was, so he made his way down stairs. He also hadn't noticed till now, but the sun had fallen drastically, making the house darker.

He would have to go to sleep soon too, although he'd pretty much slept in this morning. He had to admit, though, today was a wonderful reprieve from the regular. They weren't safe in an army compound, but still.

He went to the food he'd seen on the counter and snatched up a can of cut green beans and potatoes. He rummaged in the adjacent cabinet drawer and found a fork, along with a hand can opener. He stared at it for a minute and then decided to take it with them.

Before opening his can though, he hurried back upstairs.

Ellis was still sleeping, but he'd shifted in bed, the blanket now exposing his back as he lay on his stomach.

He set his can and the opener on the side table and set a hand on his back. His skin was so warm, and his breathing was so strong. Nick exhaled slowly. He wished he could've gotten him to safety. Wished he could've reunited him with his family, and that damn hick, Keith.

Ellis, out all of them, was the most deserving of rescue. He had so much to live for.

Wait, what was he thinking? Ellis _has_ so much to live for. They're getting out of this shit, one way or another.

Nick's brow furrowed and he gave Ellis a whispered promise, crouching down to his ear, "I'm gonna get you outta here, Overalls."

Ellis murmured and shifted again, his face now turned to him. He had a few small cuts that were crusted over in a scab and a few that were still fresh. The black eye that was present for the longest time when they first met was gone, though many came after that. There was a scar that ran down part of his jaw, from a Jockey. He remembered how much he bled, the look of restrained pain on his face the whole rest of the way to the next safe house. Even after all Ellis' pain and suffering, disappointment and let downs… in this moment… He looked so peaceful.

Nick coughed and had to stand up to compose himself before he did something stupid. He hated to wake him from such peaceful sleep, but he would probably like to eat.

"Ellis…" Nick set his hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly. His eyes squinted, and his body scrunched in before he opened his eyes and started to yawn and stretch.

"C'mon and eat somethin and you can go back to sleep, Sport." He told him gently.

As Ellis still stretched he nodded, rubbing at his eyes and scratching through his hair. Kid needed a shower, too.

Too bad the water wasn't…

Nick eyed the doorway to the bathroom and set a hand on his pocket where his flashlight was.

New Orleans was just recently mostly evacuated. Had they switched off the water yet? They'd spent so much time in places with no running water they stopped bothering to check. He realized they hadn't checked at all in this state. He quickly pulled out his flashlight and went to the bathroom, turning on the water faucet in the sink.

To his surprise, the water came pouring through.

"Yes!" Nick exclaimed, making Ellis perk up.

"…Is that runnin water?!" Ellis bolted upright, and when Nick just started laughing he quickly got up and sure enough.

"Ah, hell yea!" Ellis put his hands in the water along with Nick's and brought them through his hair. God, did that feel good.

"I call dibs on the first shower." Nick chuckled.

Ellis rolled his eyes, "I'm just glad I ain't gotta keep drinkin flat soda and Gatorade all the damn time." He made a cup with his hands and captured some of the water and brought to his lips to gulp down.

Nick patted Ellis on the back firmly, "Why don't you look for some kind of water bottles." He suggested.

At least things were looking up a bit.


	3. Chapter 3

I just wanted to put this out there, but I have a Tumblr, and I don't really post anything. But, if I gave out the link, and started posting would anyone be interested in following?

Bleh :T Anyway. Here's the next chapter, and before you say anything, yea, it kinda sounds like the first chapter, but hey! Ellis is an emotional wreck! Leave him be.

**(BLD)**

Ellis finished a fourth can, this one previously filled with peas, and tossed it out the widest crack in the window. It fell and clattered loudly outside.

If Nick were around he might've chastised him for attracting attention like that. The few infected that did wander up were curious for a few minutes until they wandered back away.

Ellis sighed, letting his hands fall behind him and slide down the back of the couch, the night's cool air making goose bumps appear across his bare chest. He felt too stuffed to move, much less find a blanket, so he simply decided to enjoy the soft breeze. It felt like, to him, that Fall was rolling around. He was sure New Orleans wouldn't be seeing much change for the season, but if they were to be heading up North, jackets and coats would be something they'd have to look for.

He hoped they wouldn't need to be finding _Winter_ coats. He hoped they could be rescued before then.

But that didn't stop him from wondering what Nick would look like in a big, leather trench coat. Imagining him walking through the streets of New York, snow sprinkling his dark hair, his cheeks a soft red from the cold.

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad if they went up North.

Ellis reached a hand up to scratch behind his ear, simultaneously yawning. He wondered if he could get Nick to hold him again tonight. It wasn't too hard last night, but then again, Nick was probably showing a lot of sympathy, an emotion he didn't know the gambler had. Maybe, if he started blubbering like a baby again…

Nah, he'd better leave him alone tonight. Don't want him thinking Ellis was losing it.

Though he missed Coach and Rochelle dearly, and hadn't stopped thinking of them since they left, he couldn't help but think how much more time he had to spend with Nick now that they were gone. It was bitter sweet, but the prospect of getting to know Nick a lot better was enough to ease some of his hurt.

He sighed and leaned up, placing his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. In the morning, it would be time to get back to reality. He wasn't naïve, and he knew their chances were dwindling. Without Coach, they didn't have his guidance and foresight. Though, he was pretty sure Nick saw his guidance as barked orders and his foresight as blindly pushing them in the dark.

And Rochelle. He wouldn't have her to talk out his problems with anymore. And no more talks about understanding and then getting rid of his doubts. And boy, did he have a lot of doubts, probably _now_ more than ever. She was like his big sister. He would unload all his troubles onto her, and not once did she ever turn him away.

There was a slight hope, though, that maybe, just maybe Nick would be willing to listen. He prayed Nick would listen.

There was no hot water, so Nick didn't waste his time soaking, like he wanted to. He shampooed his hair, soaped his body, and brushed his teeth. It took maybe 15 minutes. He stepped out with a shiver, reaching for a towel he had predetermined was safe to use and ran it through his hair, probably sending the strands every which way. He wrapped the towel around his waist and collected the two flashlights he had on the counter and turned one off, using the other to guide him through the dark room.

He'd found cleaner underwear in the dresser, but wasn't about to trade out his pants and shirt. This house didn't have a washer and dryer, so he'd have to wait a bit longer to clean them.

He dressed quickly, brushing back his hair with his hand every time it got in his eyes. He reached into his book bag and pulled out the comb from before, then used it to comb out his still damp hair. He'd let it dry out before he'd do anything to it, though, with no styling gel, there wasn't going to be much he _could_ do with it.

He sighed, setting the comb back in its pouch.

He rubbed at his eyes before going down stairs to let Ellis know he could have his turn. But, when he got to the bottom of the steps, he paused.

Ellis was leaned over, his elbows on his knees, head in his palms and he looked to be deep in thought.

Or just staring off into space, he couldn't tell with this Kid.

"Hey, Ellis." Nick called, effectively snapping Ellis out of his thoughts. He turned to Nick, "My turn?"

"Yea. I got it good'n cold for'ya." Nick answered, a smirk playing across his lips.

Ellis rolled his eyes. At least he still had his humor.

"Alrighty then." He stood and went upstairs for his shower.

Nick went back to the stock pile of canned goods and pulled out a can of raviolis. Sure, he'd eaten before getting in the shower, but what was a few more cans gonna do? They both needed to put on some more weight, Ellis especially. Nick clearly remembers each of the three times he's had to carry the Kid to safety, and him weighing just a bit less. He also remembered that this was the first time they'd eaten in three days. Three days ago, it was unheard of to stop and rest, or do anything that would hold up their mad dash to the finish line.

Too bad their finish line burned to ash right in front of them.

Nick found the can opener that had mysteriously found its way over to the couch and opened his can. He sat on the couch, devouring a couple spoon-fulls before shifting in his seat. His back was aching from all the hunching over he was doing earlier, collecting and organizing. Maybe the Tylenol could help him out a bit.

He continued his magic trick of making his raviolis disappear and once he was done, he set the can on the ground near his feet. As he let his food digest, he went over his plan once again. He'd concocted it in the shower, and he decided to wait a bit before voicing it to Ellis. He had to make sure his plan was fool proof before they went gallivanting over there, like they knew what they were doing. He didn't want to get Ellis' hopes up and then it turn out to be the bridge bombing all over again. He needed to execute the first couple steps of his plan to figure out if the rest was going to even be worth the work.

First, finding ammo. They didn't need too much, if the rest of his plan worked.

He'd need to find some sort of scope, or better, some binoculars. Then, if everything checked out, he'd need a boat. Something that could get them from point A to point B with no problem. He wasn't looking for a yacht.

But, here was where Nick was stumped. The next part of his plan has remained _unplanned_, because of one little aspect.

If he could figure it out, they could possibly have a chance in this God forsaken world.

All he needed to do now was find these items, sort of like a messed up 'Scavenger Hunt'. But he didn't want Ellis getting suspicious as to why he was looking for a boat, or binoculars. He needed to get these things without him knowing.

Come to think of it…

Ellis emerged from his shower with a sigh. His scalp felt a thousand times better, and that funky smell was finally gone. He shook out his body like a dog then reached out to the towel rack, patting down the metallic rod blindly. He hadn't decided to use the flash lights like Nick insisted. Once he had his towel, he gave his hair a good rub down then went to the rest of his body, making sure to get most of the moisture off.

He threw the towel to the ground and went into the bedroom. He set his hand on the bed side table and immediately found a flashlight.

With it between his teeth, he was able to redress. He pulled on a fresh pair of boxers and a tee shirt. He was going to sleep comfortably tonight. Before he flopped onto the bed though, he had to get Nick.

He hurried down stairs, "Hey, Nick. I'm done." But, he wasn't in the living room. His heart dropped for a moment.

"Nick?" he round the corner and went to the kitchen.

"No…" It was like someone had punched all the air out of him, and all he could do was stare at the empty room in front of him.

Where had Nick gone? Was he coming back? Had he abandoned him like the others had?

"NICK!" he was suddenly yelling, his hands balled into fists, his arms pumping as he ran to the window, which had one of the wood panels removed.

He thrust his head through the wide opening, searching in the dark for that familiar face. The only uninfected face that he'd be seeing for a long time.

"Nick, damn it, where are you!?" He yelled into the darkness. Ominously, there were no infected that were wondering the streets tonight. It was like the city was empty. Like even the _infected_ had abandoned him.

A pained sob escaped him as he fled upstairs. Why? Why was this happening to him? He couldn't do this alone. He'd rather blow his brains out this very instant than suffer this hell.

He went to the window upstairs, hoping that maybe he could see the gambler from that vantage.

It took him all of two seconds to find Nick's hustled steps through the street, making his way back to their dwellings.

Ellis let out a sound mixed between a sigh of relief and a growl of anger. Why had he gone off by himself?!

He ran back down stairs, just in time to meet with Nick who was coming back in.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ellis yelled.

Nick snapped his head up to the hick, "Uh…" He had barely set one foot through the window when he pounced.

"WHY'D YOU THINK IT WAS SUCH A GREAT IDEA TO GO OUT THERE ON'YER OWN!?" Ellis tried to stop the angry tears that were falling, but it was too much.

"Ellis, I-" Nick tried explaining, one arm lifting to show him carrying a duffle bag.

"NO! I DON'T _EVER_ WANT YOU TO LEAVE MY SIGHT _AGAIN_!" Ellis was so furious. He'd gone out for supplies?! What about the plan to do that in the morning, where they could both watch out for each other?

Nick remained silent, his face a blank emotion as he waited for Ellis to continue. When he did, it was in a rigid whisper, "You had me thinkin the worst had happened..." Though his expression was one of anger, his chest heaving as he stood trembling, Nick could see the fear and sadness in his eyes. He'd hurt him.

"Ellis…" he set the duffle bag down and slowly approached, like a person would a foal, not wanting to scare him off or upset him any further.

"The last thing I'd want to do is scare you like that." His voice was calm and soothing. He'd never seen the Kid so worked up like this. He's seen it in Coach and Rochelle, hell, even in himself a couple times, but never Ellis.

Ellis was still trembling, but he had started biting his bottom lip, trying to cease the soft whimpers that were escaping. Wasn't he trying to get over all this? The being abandoned, and feeling hopeless?

Nick wasn't sure what he was doing, but it seemed Ellis was able to calm down with physical contact, like last night. So, based on this theory, Nick opened his arms and encased Ellis in them, wordlessly sending a hand up to card through his damp hair.

Ellis' resolve crumbled as he began sobbing in Nick's arms. He let Nick hold him, even bringing his own hands around his waist. How could he think Nick would leave him? He was out looking for supplies, and by the looks of it, he'd found a lot.

He buried his face in the junction of Nick's neck and shoulder, nuzzling the skin to hopefully muffle his crying.

Nick patted the boys back, making light shushing sounds to sooth him. He wondered how long it'd be before they got through this stage.

"Hey, Kiddo. It's pretty late. We'd better get some shut eye." He'd discuss his plans with Ellis in the morning. The tired mechanic was too distraught for any discussion at the moment.

Ellis sucked back his tears as he nodded into Nick's neck. "Ok…" he whimpered out. As he wiped at his tears, the last few drops falling from the tip of his nose, it sent chills up Nick's spine as the cold droplets crashed on his skin.

Nick unraveled his arms from around him, but one hand went and clutched at his. Pity was what drove Nick to accept these physical interactions. Or, he convinced himself it was pity. Ellis held his hand the whole way upstairs, giving Nick a case of Déjà vu, as he set Ellis back on his side of the bed. The Kid even took his hat off on his own this time.

He removed his shoes and climbed into bed alongside him, pulling the blankets down and then around himself. He was expecting it this time, so he wasn't too surprised when Ellis wriggled his way to him and curled up near his chest. He set an arm around the Kid, and when he looked up at him with a slightly confused expression, Nick gave him the smallest of smiles. A confirmation. So, Ellis slowly wrapped his tattooed arm around Nick's middle. He set his head back down, his forehead barely touching against Nick's chest, this time, allowing Nick to be free of a face full of hair. Though it was slightly more comfortable than last night, Nick couldn't help but burry his face in those locks anyway. His hair was still a bit damp, and it smelled clean, like mint. And damn, was it soft. Under normal circumstances, he'd never in a million years be caught dead doing this. Then again, it didn't really matter when everyone else was dead. So screw them.

Ellis passed out almost immediately, but Nick was too filled with his thoughts to fall asleep. Was this going to be a routine? Mental break down by day, snuggle-fest by night? He knew Ellis was in mourning, and it was painfully obvious he was dealing with abandonment issues, so it eased his discomfort to a tolerable degree. Though it would have bugged him before, he couldn't bring himself to complain about the soft, warm body lovingly curled up against him right now.

"So…" Ellis paused to look back through the binoculars, past the bridges wreckage, and where the military base had been set up. Through the still burning fires and smoke, and the distance itself, it was hard to see it at all.

"You wanna find a boat, ride over there, break inside their base to where _maybe_ there might be supplies?" Ellis was in serious doubt of Nick's plan. Who says they didn't take everything with them? Then again, it wasn't very normal of him to shoot down a plan so quickly. Or, at all.

"Yea, basically." The con-man answered, still tweaking with his newly found M60. Last night, while Ellis was taking his shower, he managed to find another small stock pile of weapons and ammo. This time, it was at a hardware shop. The few people inside that looked to be uninfected were probably trying to hold up in there. He hadn't mentioned it to Ellis, but it looked like one of their pals _had_ been infected. He was wearing the same hardware work shirt like the others, but his physical characteristics looked to be like a Hunter. He'd slashed their throats open before he went down.

He pried the M60 from the biggest looking guy's hands. There was a shotgun in another corner that had a good amount of ammo in it, so he took that too. What took him so long though, was finding ammo. He'd found shotgun shells under the service desk, and then there were some more in the small back room where all the bodies were found. But, unfortunately, all the ammo to the M60 was what was in it. Which, by the way, was a full round.

After browsing the shop itself, he grabbed some zip ties, more batteries, and a couple packs of gum, because he felt like it.

Unfortunately, as he was ready to leave, he hadn't heard the approaching growls of a Hunter. As soon as he stepped out, he was pounced. His back hit the concrete so hard he was sure something had broken.

It was beyond him how he was able to get the damn thing off, but once he stood up, his back was on fire.

He was trying his damndest to hide it from Ellis, because he was ready to get this show on the road. A back injury is the least of his problems at the moment.

"And, yer' only problem is how we're gettin inside'a the base…" Ellis concluded, bringing the binoculars down to hang freely around his neck by the strap.

"Yep." Nick hefted his heavy gun over his shoulder, staring out at the wreckage. They'd gone back to the bridge, where they spent so much time sitting in defeat. But now that Nick looked at it… It looked like their second chance.

"Ok, ok." Ellis started scratching at the back of his head. He'd washed his scalp just last night, so Nick knew it was from nervousness. He didn't quite like the idea.

Nick sighed, "Look, Ellis, it's just an idea. If _you_ have an idea, _please_, share it." Nick encouraged the mechanic to speak more freely. Having been around Coach for so long, he was probably afraid of getting yelled at.

"Oh, no, it's just… I don't know." The Kid looked to the ground.

"Won't there be a lotta infected?" he asked, his expression twisting into a 'sorry to bring this up' face as he looked to Nick.

Nick squinted at Ellis for a moment. Was he serious…?

"Ellis… There's _already_ a lot of infected." Nick waved one arm out in front of him, motioning to the surrounding area. "It's not gonna be a big surprise to see more over there." He pointed out in the direction of the military base, across the water.

Ellis took in a breath, as if to say something else, but he froze, then let out an exhale, his shoulders slumping. "Yea, I guess."

There it was again. He was giving up before he tried.

Nick pinched at the bridge of his nose. '_Stay calm with him. We've both been through some serious shit._' He thought to himself. He took his hand away and sighed.

"No, you were gonna say something. What is it…"Nick prompted.

Ellis looked back up, then started fidgeting with his hands, "Well, sense it's just the two of us…maybe goin out in a big group'a zombies ain't such a…smart idea."

He knew he wanted to say '_great _idea', but thought better of it.

Nick nodded, getting it now. He guessed Ellis was finally coming to terms with reality. Not but two weeks ago was he hooting and hollering when he got a Witch in the head. She went down like a sack of potatoes. Now that Ellis had gotten over the _fun_ of it all, his head was in the game.

"It's good that you're thinking of things like this, Ellis." He commented, giving him a firm smack on the back. "It means you're _getting_ it."

Ellis looked up to him and was rewarded a smile. Ellis gave a crookid half smile and huffed a laugh.

Nick nodded again, "But, it's ok." Nick went back to his point.

"That's why I found a couple of _these_." Nick set his M60 against the building they stood beside and picked up the duffle bag he'd brought along. He opened the zipper and reached in, pulling out a hand full of pipe bombs.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you guys so much for your reviews! Honestly, it gives me all the motivation I need. And sorry for the short update :( I'll try and make the next update a bit longer to make up for it.

**(BLD)**

When was the last time they even used a pipe bomb? It had to of been back when they were in the sugar mill. Ironically, it was by accident they'd found them in the first place, hidden in a lock box in a trailer. Rochelle had accidentally shot the box while fighting the oncoming horde. The lock had been shattered and sent the contents scattered along the floor.

A devilish grin played across Ellis' lips as the memory came back to him.

"Man, where'd you get them?" Ellis took one from Nick's outstretched hand, examining the expertly crafted device. He'd never seen one so well made.

Nick shrugged, setting the others back in the duffle bag, "I think those guys were some serious conspiracy theorists or some shit. I mean, really," Nick picked up his M60, "What kind of people do you _think_ would just have this lying around?" Nick shook his head, amazed at all the surprises the south still held.

"Hmm…" Ellis gave the bomb one last inspection before handing back to Nick, who then put it with the others.

"Yea, I figure when we get on the other side of the walls we can just use them as sort of a distraction while we look for… bigger guns." Nick then chuckled darkly. Ellis glanced at him a bit suspiciously from the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure what exactly went playing through the Gambler's mind at that moment, and he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know.

By the looks of the sun, it could be approximately 2 o'clock, and they'd been going through Nick's plan for the last longest. Looking for a boat was next on their list for the day, and Ellis was sure they'd have no problem there, New Orleans being nestled right next to giant lakes.

They headed in the direction Nick remembered seeing a couple boat docks as they went along the edge of the water. It didn't take long to spot a couple small buildings near the residential area a bit further down. As they came closer, though, the sounds of crazed laughter caused them to pause.

"One of those Jockey bastards…" Nick muttered, retrieving his magnum.

Ellis kept his ears open, switching his head around at every subtle sound he heard. Jockeys were probably by far his least favorite infected. Not like he _had_ a favoriteinfected.

The Jockey cackled again, this time a lot closer, but before Ellis could respond, three shots were fired and sent into a bush right beside him, and the Jockey's dying cry sounded.

"Damn, Nick." Ellis' gun wielding hand slumped, and he pulled his cap back a bit to scratch at his hair line. "That was sure quick on the draw." Ellis chuckled. He hadn't ever seen Nick so responsive.

Nick only shrugged, continuing along the path, "We have to be on top of our game one hundred percent of the time now, sense there's two less of us. No room to be lazy, or expect someone else to nab'em." Nick set his magnum back in his thigh holster.

Ellis nodded, understanding, but then it hit him, "Wait, so you're sayin you been _lazy_ this whole time?!"

Nick turned the slightest bit to give Ellis a grin, "Hey, you guys were doing just fine." He motioned a hand in the air.

Ellis gave him a playful shove to the back, "Asshole." he mumbled, though the lopsided grin took the venom out of his words.

Nick laughed, a bit relieved to have gotten that out of the way. But it wasn't like it was a horrible secret, it just sort of bothered him ever since the bridge bombing. In the back of his mind, something kept telling him if he would've been more active, or tried to get every little zombie he saw that maybe they would've made it to the bridge quicker. And maybe they could've been rescued.

He was glad Ellis didn't instantly come up with these accusations, but laughed it off. He could deal with his _own_ self-loathing, but he'd really be upset if the Kid started too.

They came up to the small bridge that lead out to the boat dock and quickly crossed it. The doors to the dock had a chain linked around the handles, but the lock on the chain had been unlocked, and now it dangled with the motions of the water.

Nick quickly yanked the rest of the chain out, letting it fall to the wooden boards. He gave the door a good shove and they both fell open, revealing a suitable speed boat.

"Nice." Nick commented, stepping in to examine the boat's body. It was in excellent condition, and everything looked to be in order. Well, all except one little thing.

"Uh… Maybe we oughtta… Get rid'a that body?" Ellis suggested, pulling the neck of his shirt over his nose to block out the stench of rotting flesh as he stepped through the thresh hold.

Nick regarded the man, slumped in the driving seat, mouth agape, with a bullet wound that went straight through and out the back of his head. "The guy offed himself." Nick mumbled, reaching into the boat and plucking the gun from the portly fingers of the corpse. He checked the round and was pleased to see only two bullets missing. He slipped the gun into his pants pocket and started searching for something to get the fat ass lump of fat out of his new boat.

After finding nothing he groaned and relented.

"Here," Nick carefully stepped into the small boat and started finding an appropriate position to lift the man in, "Help me with this."

Ellis quickly hopped in, though the motion caused the little vessel to sway and bob, also causing Nick to give him a look. Ellis mumbled a 'Sorry', then began helping with the removal of the 'dead weight'.

They both hefted the man up and over the edge, grunting and groaning against his weight, sending him into a watery grave. The boat gave another waver but eventually settled, ripples still lapping against the sides.

"Christ that was a big fucker…" Nick wheezed out.

Ellis chuckled, not in the least winded. He stepped around Nick's hunched form, bent while trying to catch his breath, and went to the driver's seat. The key still dangled from the ignition, thankfully.

"Oh man…" Ellis tugged the key free and turned to Nick.

"What if the key was in that guy's pocket and we done tossed him over." Ellis chuckled some more, the thought of either Nick or himself having to drop into the water to find the body and then try and find the key in the murky depths. Though, it probably would've been himself.

Nick groaned at the same thought, "Let's just see if it'll start, Kid." Nick started stretching out, first arching like a cat before standing straight again. His back was still giving him problems and dumping the lard ass over only seemed to make it worse.

Ellis nodded and set the key back in then gave it a twist. A high pitched beep went off before the engine started to rev, sounding just like a car, then roared to life, water beginning to swirl in the back.

"Hell yea!" Ellis cheered over the roar of the engine, giving Nick a wild grin.

The Gambler came up behind Ellis, checking the gauges. His brows furrowed as he saw the needle pointing precariously near the 'E'.

He reached around Ellis and promptly shut the engine off, taking the keys out of the ignition to put in his pocket.

Ellis gave an 'Aww' of disappointment, "What'dja do that for? I thought we were gonna see how it ran."

"Hmm. Yea, no. There's probably not enough gas in there to even run for a few _minutes_, let alone a whole test drive." Nick answered, already starting to step out of the boat. Ellis quickly followed along and stayed behind Nick as the exited the boat house.

"Gas…" Nick started thinking, concocting more plans, "We need to find some cars… Siphon out any gas they have." His eyes were squinting with his concentration, one hand on his hip as he looked out over the water.

"And gas cans." Ellis chipped in. It wouldn't be a fun day if they wound up getting covered in gas from carrying it in an unsafe container.

Nick nodded, "Yea. Let's hit up some gas stations first. Just to be sure." He concluded.

"Alrighty." Ellis readjusted his cap on his head, sweeping the long curls that started getting in his eyes out of the way.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, I need your help real quick. There's this little scene in this chapter, and once you've read through, you'll know what I'm referring to, but there's this little tiny scene with some adult themed-ness to it. I was wondering if that were grounds for switching the rating from 'T' to 'M'? I mean, I wasn't even thinking about it till now,(As I'm posting it.) but let me know. Thanks guys!

**(BLD)**

The BP was out, the Circle K was out, the Murphy USA was out, and by the time it had reached somewhere between five and six, Nick's back was on the verge of cracking in two. The only thing they were able to retrieve was a couple one gallon gas tanks. Nick stood from the ground after Ellis had no luck with the dry pumps. Since he basically had no idea what he was doing when it came to the things like this, he sat back and let Ellis do it all. He'd folded his sleeves back more times than he could count at this point, and he'd sweat enough to drown himself in it. All in all, Nick felt miserable. They were about to start walking toward another station about a mile from their current position, but Nick stopped and let out an exasperated breath. Ellis came to a stop as he noticed Nick had.

"Listen, Overalls. We can start this up again after we eat something." Nick turned away from Ellis as he spoke so he didn't see the pinches of pain on his face, trying to make it seem like he were watching for infected. Though, unfortunately, his voice was a little harder to control. His breath came out in short puffs as he panted against the heat. All these combined wore on his ability to act it out.

Ellis' brows furrowed in concern. He could sense the pain in Nick's voice. He came up to him and set a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, you OK Nick?"

The Gambler turned and sighed, giving Ellis a weary look before answering "Cats out of the bag…" he mumbled. _Just screw it all, _Nick thought. He let out a long breath as he closed his eyes for a moment to slick back his hair, which right now was being held down by his own sweat, a fact that didn't cease to disgust him.

Ellis gave him a confused look, eyes squinting and head tilting to the side. The Kid looked just fine, with just the slightest tint of red to show his overheatedness, and a healthy amount of sweat across his brow. Nick shouldn't have been surprised, he grew up in _Georgia_. The heat had been bothering _him_ ever since he came to the fucking south.

"My back's been killing me ever since the other night." The gambler admitted, now freely rubbing at his back and making faces of discomfort.

Ellis' eyes now squinted in suspicion, "What _happened _last night?"

Why was it that Ellis gave him that same tone and look his ex-wife gave him? All he needed to do now was fold his arms over his chest and tap his foot.

Nick reached behind his head and scratched at a mosquito bite, simultaneously wiping the back of his neck from sweat. "I got attacked by a Hunter. Sent me straight into the concrete."

Ellis' eyes widened and his mouth went agape. Nick quickly followed up to set Ellis mind at ease, "Hey, it was a weak one. I had him off'a me in no time. It's just the fall that got me." Then he side stepped around Ellis to start the long walk back to their hole in the wall.

It didn't take him long to hear Ellis' heavy boot steps following behind. A few minutes passed in silent marching, until Nick could've sworn he heard Ellis mumble something along the lines of, "That's what you get…"

Nick rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Ahhhhh…" Nick eased himself carefully onto the couch where he promptly sighed. Ellis set his guns and the gas tanks down on the one coffee table they decided to take down from the make-shift barrier at the door. It wasn't a new thing that the outside were the same temperature as the inside, but it was one of those moments that Nick cursed the apocalypse for taking away one of his favorite conveniences.

"What'chu want?" Ellis asked offhandedly.

It took a while for Nick to process what he meant, but when he did he shrugged, though he knew Ellis couldn't see the motion. "Surprise me." Nick called back.

Ellis paused in his steps.

"Ok." he answered, a mischievous grin pulling across his lips. He didn't care if he were in pain at the moment or suffering. Ellis was allowed to play a little prank on Nick.

Ellis selected a can of pork and beans for himself and then grabbed another can for Nick. He chuckled under his breath as he eyed it for a while before going and retrieving the can opener and went to the living room to put them on the coffee table.

Nick eyed the can beside the pork and beans, knowing it were meant to be his. Ellis went back into the kitchen to pour a couple glasses of water. Once he was out of sight, Nick leaned forward and turned the can so he could see what it was, since the label was backwards.

Ellis pulled two glasses from the cabinet above his head and giggled in delight as he heard a groan in the living room.

"Seriously, Ellis?!" The can came crashing into the kitchen as Nick threw it at him. "Something else!"

"Aw, Nick, I thought'ya _liked_ olives!" Ellis called back, bending and picking up the pitted olives, grinning like a fool.

"Fuck _you_, you fucking fuck!"

Back in the days they were traveling in the Jimmy Gibbs, they stopped by a mini mart for supplies. To their dismay, the only things left on the limited aisles were condiments and canned olives. Nick _hated _olives- and still does-and was on the verge of a hissy fit if they didn't look for another shop or store that held something other than olives.

Once they found another general store, Nick was the first to hop out of the car and start searching. But by some sort of cosmic event, the shelves were just as bare as the last, and only contained the same condiments and the same type of olives.

He went on a rampage, tipping over the shelves and throwing the cans of olives out the windows, shattering them and at the same time calling the attention of a Tank who'd been lurking in the back.

Coach had cursed the living day lights out of him once the beast was down. Nick stood, leaned against the Jimmy Gibbs with his arms crossed and just glared off into the distance the whole time. Coach told him he could eat all the olives they'd collected till they were gone, and if he caught him eating anything else he'd shoot him in the foot.

The one time Nick tried to eat a bag of Cheetos during that duration, Coach had come storming after him, and firing at the ground he stood on. Only until Nick threw the bag of Cheetos into the nearby pond did Coach stop.

Ellis almost died laughing

"Just give me a can of fucking green beans and potatoes!" Nick yelled after a moment's pause.

Ellis set the can back with the others and searched in the pile for Nick's request, chuckling lightly as he went.

God damn it, that Kid. Leave it to Ellis to still be joking around even after all the shit that's been happening. Nick leaned back and rubbed at his temples. Though, that was probably better than _whining baby_ Ellis. Whatever. At least he _had_ the Kid. Ellis could've just as easily left him out there on his ass like the others so willingly did.

Ellis came back into the living room, a glass in each hand, his fingers grasping onto two forks, and a can under his arm. He set the glasses on the table and sat before handing Nick his can. He chuckled again when Nick checked and made sure he'd gotten him what he wanted.

"Shut your hick mouth." Nick grumbled.

Oh great. He might've just gotten Nick into one of his _moods_.

"Oh, c'mon, Nick. I was just pickin." Ellis tried to sooth the sour puss, setting an arm around his shoulders to jostle him lightly.

Nick was not pleased, "Screw off. I'm eating this, taking an ibuprofen and going to bed." Nick swept his arms from around him with a huff and grabbed the can opener.

"But I thought we were gonna head back out and search for gas?" Ellis was pretty sure they had a couple more workable hours.

"Fuck it." He slipped the can opener off his can and laid it back on the table, shoveling his food down in a rush to go nap.

Shit. He really _had _gotten Nick into a mood. If he was gonna be like this, how much work would they get done? Was he ever going to stop being a poor sport about Ellis' teasing?

He sighed, his shoulders slumping in a sort of 'I'm so stupid' manner, now trying to come up with an acceptable apology that Nick wouldn't shrug off.

Their meal went in almost complete silence, save for the grumbling and groaning of a few passing infected. At times like these Ellis was prone to tell his tales of Keith and his adventures. But, seeing as how the only one who really cared to listen to his stories was Rochelle… It just seemed inappropriate.

Ellis swallowed his last bite of baked beans and sliced weenies and was very suddenly captured by an idea. It was a little farfetched, but it was worth a shot.

"Hey," Ellis nudged Nick with an elbow, getting his attention, but not waiting for a reply, "I could help you with'yer back if you want?" Ellis suggested, a hopeful grin on his face.

Nick eyed him for a moment, as if thinking over what he meant, "Like how?"

"Oh, I was just gonna give you a rub down." Ellis explained, unabashedly.

Nick's eyes went wide for a moment before they turned to slits, "A massage…" it was more a statement than a question.

Ellis' head bobbed eagerly, "Yea, sure."

Very slowly, a smirk spread across Nick's face. "You're serious?" Was it weird for Ellis to give him a back rub? He _had_ been cuddling him the past few nights. What was a little massage gonna do?

Ellis chuckled, "Calm down, Nick. There ain't gonna be no happy endin'." He gave Nick a mischievous look then stood, and went to the kitchen to dispose of his can the proper way. He set his fork and glass in the sink with the other previously dirtied dishes.

Ellis wasn't sure why Nick was being so weird about it. He'd given Rochelle _plenty_ of back rubs before. Why was it so different for him?

Nick had to contain the groan that the mental image caused, rubbing his face to actually calm himself down. If he was going to let the Kid give him a back rub, he'd need to get himself under control. How deprived did he have to be to think of the Kid that way?

But _Jesus_ fuck! Ellis crouched between his legs, giving him a lustful half lidded stare, hands gripping at his thighs as those plump lips slid up and down his length, moist, and humming loudly as he slurped and sucked. Hot damn.

God damn it, _stop_….

Ellis emerged from the kitchen, a little pep in his step. Was he excited to give Nick a back rub? He shook his head a bit, curls tickling his forehead with the motion, not letting himself over analyze it. He could call this spending quality time with Nick. Some 'hands on' quality time.

Ellis chuckled to himself as he started upstairs, but then he paused to call after Nick, "C'mon, Nick." The gambler seemed to be stuck to the couch, staring at the ground. When he heard Ellis, he jolted a bit, as if surprised.

Nick stood from the couch, groaning slightly as his back popped and set a hand at the small of his lower back and started walking much like a pregnant woman. Ellis would've laughed if he didn't know Nick would have his head. So he covered his mouth quickly with one hand to hide his prominent smile.

Once he got to the steps, he lurched forward to stretch his back, groaning again. _He must really be in pain_, Ellis thought. His smile dropped, and all at once he felt a little guilty.

"Almost there." Ellis encouraged, letting his hand hover over Nick's shoulder in guidance to his steps. Nick clenched onto the hand rail and worked through the pain as he ascended quickly. Ellis little coaching didn't go unnoticed and he gave the Kid a weary smile, "Thanks." And they both made it to the master bedroom, Nick easing himself onto the sheets and Ellis going into the bathroom.

Nick raised a brow, "What're you doin, Sport?"

Ellis came back out with a bottle of lotion, "I figure this'll help." He set it on the foot of the bed and then came over to Nick and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" Nick started chuckling with actual amusement, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're pretty eager for this." Nick smirked, unbuttoning his own shirt after he swatted Ellis' hands away. Ellis only laughed, leaning back to let Nick take his own shirt off. Nick knew how eager to please Ellis could be, but this was starting to feel a little ridiculous.

Nick folded his blue shirt and set it on the other side of the bed. He then turned, sitting cross legged on the mattress facing away from Ellis.

As Nick turned, Ellis' jaw dropped, now understanding the reasoning behind Nick's discomfort. "Aw, man. Nick, you got this huge ass bruise on'yer back." Ellis lightly traced a work worn finger around the discolored flesh that created an odd shape across his middle back area. Nick groaned, though if it were from the discovery or of pain from Ellis touch, he didn't know, but he retracted his hand anyway.

Nick gave a sigh, his shoulders slumping in the slightest, "Just work around it, Sport." He wasn't even surprised, if anything, he was sort of expecting it.

Ellis still eyed Nick's bruises and nodded once, "Alright, but if I hurt'cha, I'm sorry." He reached a hand back to grab the lotion.

Nick chuckled, though it lacked any humor, "Trust me, you couldn't hurt me any worse than what those zombies have done."

Ellis squirted a fair amount onto his hand, "True." He commented. "At least when _I_ hurt'cha, it ain't intentional." He then smeared the lotion onto the other hand, rubbing his them together to warm it up a bit, and then set his hands against Nick's shoulder blades, where they were clear of any bruising. He began a slow rhythm of kneading, rubbing and squeezing along his shoulder blades and down to parts of his thoracic.

The Gambler gave an appreciative hum, his head bowing forward, eyes sliding shut, allowing his body to sway with Ellis' ministrations.

Ellis smiled a little, liking the fact that he himself was able to make Nick feel just a little bit better. Sure, he'd had to patch him up a couple dozen times, but that was from necessity. This wasn't the case. He got to do this of his own free will. It showed he really did care how Nick felt, mortally wounded or not.

The mechanic used his rough fingers and thumbs to get right underneath Nick's shoulder blades and was thrilled to hear a surprise moan come from Nick, "Yea, right there." His voice was pinched and his back arched into Ellis' hands. Ellis dug his fingers in a little deeper and slowed down a bit so he could rub harder.

Nick seemed to purr, a low vibration in his chest, which only served to emphasize all his cat-like features.

Ellis began to work his way back up and started to rub out his shoulders next, squeezing and rubbing small circles with each finger as he moved up to his neck and back down the length of his shoulders.

"_Oh God_…" Nick practically whined, his head bowing further, and humming every time Ellis squeezed at a particular muscle.

Nick had slouched forward so far; Ellis had to scoot closer to him so he could rub him properly. He started back down his back, this time going further down and making sure to avoid his bruise, Ellis used his thumbs to rub on each side of Nick's spine, pushing in then rubbing out.

Nick let out a sigh mixed with a guttural moan as his back shivered and shook. Ellis' hands were starting to go further down, to his lumbar region, and it was getting difficult for him to continue without Nick being horizontal.

"Nick, why don'tcha lay down for me?" Ellis softly asked, making sure his voice stayed soothing and smooth as he knew Nick were in a state of relaxation, he didn't want to disrupt it.

All he got in reply was a hum and Nick began to unfold his legs. Ellis smiled as he stood and let Nick lay out. "Alrighty." He mumbled to himself as he applied a second helping of lotion to his hands to warm. Nick lay on his stomach, his head turned to the right, his eyes closed.

Before Ellis went to straddle Nick, he briefly thought about warning him he'd be sitting on him for a while. He glanced at Nick's face, his eyes still closed and breathing softly. Nah, he'd be fine.

Ellis climbed back onto the bed and straddled his thighs, being careful not to jostle Nick around too much. He went back to work, this time right at his lower back.

In his new vantage, things seemed different, and it gave him the chance to really look at Nick. He looked completely at ease, relaxed and placid. Damn, was his back chiseled. He felt the stirrings in his lower abdomen and he groaned silently. Where the hell had that come from?! No! God, what was wrong with him? Now was definitely not the time for this, especially when he could feel Nick's ass right where it didn't need to be. He prayed to God Nick didn't feel anything. In fact, Ellis decided to just stop sitting on him altogether, and lifted off of him, now hovering right over his form.

He began a more quick paced ministration, but not too quickly to be uncomfortable. He kneaded his spine as before, and soon Nick was sighing, his chest rising and falling drastically. Hopefully he could end this quickly before things got out of hand for him.

As Ellis worked his fingers right in the dip of Nick's back, Nick's hands were suddenly gripping the sheets and he shuddered again before his hands went slack once more. It surprised Ellis enough to pause in his motions but he laughed it off lightly and continued.

After another couple minutes, it occurred to Ellis that Nick had stopped moaning and groaning for a while. His brows furrowed, "Nick?" he asked quietly.

Nick stayed silent, his breathing slow and deliberate, his brow free of creases and worry.

Ellis shook his head with amusement as he slowly lifted himself off of Nick's form. "I done rocked'ya to sleep." He whispered to himself, eyeing Nick's snoozing figure. He sighed, though not with annoyance, and went searching for a couple flash lights. He'd take a shower and then might as well get to sleep like Nick. They had plenty of time to get gas later.

As he flipped the flash lights on, he noticed, somewhat embarrassingly, he'd gotten a little stiff down there. Ellis sighed, closing the bathroom door to lean against, and running a hand down his face. Cocoa butter lotion smeared his cheek, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He closed his eyes and willed it to go away. Not that it was a problem anymore, he wasn't all over Nick and rubbing him, he could actually get rid of it in the shower, but just… It would be wrong. It'd be wrong on so many levels. Shit, it's not like he was peeping in the girl's locker room like in Junior high, he'd been giving _Nick_ a _massage_.

He'd gotten hard thinking of Nick.

That didn't set right with him. Or, at least he didn't want it to. Or…

"Fuck, man…" Ellis groaned, discarding his hat to the sink counter to scratch through his hair roughly.


	6. Chapter 6

This first part probably wasn't what a lot of you were expecting. (Hell, none of you were expecting this!) But it's crucial. Trust me.

**(BLD)**

She had long blond hair, right down to her elbows. It made large curls that framed her shoulders, and when it rained, it only made them curlier. Her skin was sun kissed, tanned from her frequent outdoor activities, and she had cute freckles, little drips of paint from a brush, that sprinkled along her high cheek bones. Her eyes were an unreal crystal blue and her laugh was angelically hypnotic. The kind of laugh that made you want to tell her all the jokes you knew, till she cried. Her hands were soft and plush, but showed definite signs that she wasn't a fragile flower that didn't get dirty sometimes. Her nails were always painted a sky blue, to match her eyes, even though they were almost always chipped, and a little imperfect. She wore two twine bracelets, one on each wrist, which held little beads that spelled out her name.

Abby.

In most parts of Savannah, and even some parts of Port Wentworth, she had a bad reputation, mostly for her promiscuous behavior. She always wore those short skirts and tight jeans that the nuns at the Saint Peter's Catholic school frowned deeply upon. She'd been caught hanging out at the truck stops, and got arrested a couple times for trespassing in a graveyard with a boy. People said there wasn't a level she wouldn't stoop to.

When he and Keith were teenagers, Keith tried convincing Ellis he'd been with her one time. At first, Ellis was absolutely certain Keith had been lying. First, because Keith lied on a normal basis, and second because she was 17 at the time. Keith was only one year older than him, making him 14. There was no way in _hell_ Shelby would be caught dead with such a young boy. But then he watched them making out at a barbeque a few days later.

That was when Ellis agreed with those people.

Despite her faults and sinful nature, Ellis' mother still saw good in her. She'd let her into their home on those nights she was kicked from her house and on to the streets. Ellis' mother fed her and clothed her on several occasions. At one point in time, she was even Ellis' baby sitter from when he was younger. She had been looked after almost like a daughter by Ellis' mother. There were a few things that happened, though, that changed the whole 'sister brother' relationship for Ellis.

One day, when Ellis was 12, he had just been let out of school when he came home to see Abby , age 16, sitting at the kitchen table, softly crying. Worried, Ellis rushed over, "Abby! Wha's wrong?" he had asked innocently. Abby choked back her sobs and started to lightly laugh, though her running makeup made it hard for Ellis to think she were fine.

"It's nothin, Sugar. I just got some really bad pain." She told him, running a hand through his messy mop of dark brown curls. Ellis noticed then that she had one arm that made a protective grasp around her breasts.

"Pain? From what?" Ellis kept his eyes to her chest, though he didn't mean to, and was caught off guard when her hand left his scalp and moved to his chin to make him look at her. She smiled sweetly at him as she asked, her voice like honey, "Do you wanna see?" eyelids suddenly drooped as she eyed Ellis' surprised expression, and giggled.

"Yer-Yer…you gonna show me yer…" Ellis tried desperately to pronounce his startled question, disbelieving his situation. His whole face, neck and the tips of his ears turned a crimson red. Never once had Abby ever eluted to her sexual deviancy in front of Ellis.

She only smiled wider as she stood and took Ellis by the hand. The soft tones of Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash and The Animals played from the house radio as Abby lead them into Ellis' bedroom. Once his door closed, The House of The Rising Sun was muffled, but its haunting melody still sang through as Abby set him on his bed and took a seat beside him.

She turned on his desk lamp, since it a good amount of light came through his window anyway, and she leaned in close to the young boy, "Have you ever seen a naked girl, Ellis?" she whispered.

Ellis' breath hitched and he blubbered a string of "I ain't ever, well one time- but I didn't mean to- I said I was sorry, and she said it was ok, but a girl never-ne-never showed'em to me-" "Shhhhh." Abby placed a polished finger over his small lips to silence him.

"Well this time, I'm gonna show you cause I want to." She smiled and took her finger away to lift her spaghetti strap shirt up enough to expose her front clasping white frilly bra.

Whatever blush that had gone away came back in full force as Abby lifted her shirt. "A-Abby…" whether or not he was going to tell her to stop, he couldn't decide.

She giggled lightly at Ellis' innocence and began unclasping her bra.

Ellis sucked in a breath as her breasts were exposed before his eyes, and the fact that she had two brand new nipple rings barely registered. They looked soft and plushy, and before he knew it, he was thinking about what they might feel like.

"Do you like'em?" Abby asked as she took hold of them by the bottom.

"Y-yea…" Ellis whispered, transfixed by them, though if he were answering about the rings or the breasts themselves, she didn't know.

Her eyes squinted as a slow smile spread across her glossed lips. "Wanna touch'em?"

Ellis' eyes left her chest a bit reluctantly to stare at her in surprise, mouth agape.

She giggled again, and leaned in closer, arching her back, "Go ahead, Sugar. They don't bite."

Ellis gulped, and tried to calm his shaking hands. When was he ever going to get this chance again? He hoped he wouldn't screw it up. His hands lifted and very slowly edged closer to her chest. It was so slow in fact, that for a few seconds before his hands made contact it seemed he stopped altogether.

When his hands finally met with Abby's breasts, he stopped breathing.

They were just as soft as he'd imagined. When Abby didn't make a complaint, or tell him to stop, he started to slowly feel his way around them, and ever so lightly trailed his fingers over the nipples, the cold metal of the rings making a sharp contrast.

Abby jerked back a bit, yelping, and Ellis snatched his hands away, "I-I'm sorry, A-Abby!" he tried apologizing, but Abby only laughed, "No, sweetie, its ok. I'm still a little sore, is all." She told him, reclosing her bra, and hiding them away from Ellis.

"Oh…" Ellis whispered. He couldn't stop himself, and a small smile spread across his lips. In some way, that made him feel a little more grown up.

As Abby pulled back down her shirt, Ellis gave a small cough, "Does that mean… you're my girlfriend now?"

Abby put a hand to her mouth and tried to contain her laughter, but it was too much and she shook her head in amusement, "Darlin, you are just too cute." She came in close and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

That was nearly six years ago, and yet the memory was still very vivid for him. And even though he's had many other experiences after that, he was a little embarrassed to say it, but she was the girl he'd think about on those lonely nights, even now, as a full grown man, he couldn't stop himself from imagining those curvy hips and those full breasts.

So why, why in the name of all God's creation, was it so hard for him to get hard?

He'd done it a million times before, imagined her whispering his name as she curled a finger at him to enter her room. She set him on her bed and does a strip tease for him, the same sequence he'd seen in an old porno when he was 13. That usually got his engines running.

But no. Ellis stood in the cold spray, his fading erection in hand, and was trying his damndest to get off.

What was it about Abby's luscious lips that wasn't doing it for him? Was it because he was pretty sure the girl hadn't survived the infection and was probably a zombie out there somewhere? Shit, he's not going to lie, that probably wouldn't stop him.

He tried imagining fucking her in every stupid position he'd ever seen, even threw in some crazy fetishes. Well, being tied down while she rode him didn't sound all that crazy, but the fact was because it was_ her _riding him, it left him unsatisfied and uninterested.

"Son of a bitch…" Ellis groaned, his hand coming to a stop.

He knew just what to think of to get him right on cloud 9, but his pride was what denied him access. God, why did it have to be _him_?

Damn it, why did it have to be a _guy _at all?!

Ellis wasn't gay. He'd had plenty of girlfriends in his younger years.

But that's just it, isn't it. He hadn't had a girlfriend in the past two.

He tried to remember the chain of events that got him to break up with Shelby, his last girlfriend. They'd been together for three months when he broke it off. It wasn't that she became a different person, or tried to steal from him, or cheated on him with Keith, like most the others had. She just… Wasn't what he wanted. Fuck, even thinking about it now confused him. He _still_ didn't have a good reason for why they broke up. She was funny, smart, and attractive and, well, probably the best girlfriend any guy could ask for. So what was _his _problem?

Ellis sighed, setting one hand against the tub wall.

Fine. Just… Fine.

He was going to do this one time, and one time only.

* * *

Nick suddenly woke up with a jerk. What was that? He'd heard something, right? Did Ellis call him?

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. He was still on his stomach from Ellis' amazing back rub. Damn, why hadn't he requested one sooner? Jesus, his fingers were God damn magic.

He slowly lifted himself off the bed, finding that his back was definitely in better shape than what it was before. "Gotta do that more often…" he mumbled to himself as he came up to the bathroom door.

He put an ear against the wooden surface and strained himself to listen. He was in the shower, that was for sure. Had he been imaging his name being called? Was it really just a Charger running into a dumpster that woke him?

He internally shrugged and decided to grab a snack, since he was up.

* * *

"Shit…" Ellis breathed out. His eyes were pinched shut, and his breathing had started coming out in pants.

His hand slowed so his thumb could tease the slit, making his breath hitch and then come out in a burst like moan. Ellis arm rested high against the wall, helping to keep him stable, and his forehead rest against his arm.

"Oh…_fuck_…" Ellis voice edged on a whine as he sped faster, water _shliking_ as he went.

Ellis couldn't remember the last time he'd been this hard, or turned on for that matter.

That dark hair, all mussed and disheveled as his back flexed and arched.

Ellis swallowed hard, accepting some of the droplets of water that rolled onto his face and into his mouth.

Harsh stubble that ground against his own as he pushed him against a wall to devour.

"Ahh…" Ellis had begun to thrust in his own hand, unable to make his mind up on whether or not he wanted to pump or hump.

That snarky laugh that rumbled through his chest and sent light puffs of warm air down his face.

"God…yea…" Ellis wasn't holding back anymore, and he grunted and whined as his climax came stampeding after him.

Those mysterious jade eyes flickered with such lust as his thin lips descended to close around his ear lobe and suckle lightly. He growled like a feral animal as he whispered all the things he'd be doing to him, and then finally, as Ellis was sure he was about to blow, it rang clear in his mind as he whispered his name over and over again. "_Ellis…Ellis…Ellis_."

"_NICK_!" he screamed to the top of his lungs, everything turning white and blurry as his seed splattering the wall and his hand.

As he slowly came back down, he let his whole body slump against the wall, letting his limp member free from his hand.

Ellis' breathing came back to him and he just thought about what he did.

"Man… I'm so gay." He let himself admit it. Right then and there, at that very moment, he came to terms with his emotions towards Nick. And, actually, he didn't take it that hard.

"Hehe…" Ellis chuckled, '_Take it…Hard.'_

Ellis shook out his hair, letting the locks fly every which way. When they came to rest over his eyes, it annoyed him to no end. He'd never liked his hair being too long for just this reason.

As Ellis turned his shower off, he contemplated giving himself a trim. But then that thought vanished after he remembered the _last_ time he tried giving himself a haircut. Yea, not gonna happen.

He grabbed a towel and quickly scrubbed and rubbed his whole body down, then let it sit atop his head as he put his boxers back on.

He grabbed the flash lights and headed back into the bedroom. It took him all of three seconds to realize Nick was awake and staring right at him.

"Oh! Hey, you're awake." Ellis jerked back a bit, but then leaned against the bathroom door frame, as if trying to play it cool.

Nick chuckled, "What's got you so on edge?" he asked casually, taking another spoon full of corn.

Ellis laughed nervously. Did Nick hear what was going on in there? He was being loud enough. God, why couldn't he of done this some other time!?

"I just wasn't expectin'ya to be up." Ellis admitted, scratching at a scab on his forearm, keeping his eyes averted.

Nick eyed him suspiciously for a moment. He was doing that thing he did when he was trying to hide something. He saw it the time he didn't want to tell everyone he accidentally left his pistol in the last safe house, and the time he thought he'd come down with the cold.

What was he just doing in the bathroom…?

Nick's eyes suddenly went wide for a moment. Was _that _what woke him up? No.

No.

It couldn't. Nick was just being a pervert, as usual.

Still… He couldn't help but to ask.

"Oh, by the way…" he paused, to make the Kid look at him. He needed to see his eyes.

"Did you scream my name, by any chance?"

**(BLD)**

Dun-Dun-DUN! Such a cliff hanger! XD Sorry, I have to end the chapter here. For reasons.

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I went ahead and switched the rating to 'M'. You can obviously see why. ;D


	7. Chapter 7

Oh my God, this took way too long to finish. And it isn't even that long! Sorry about that :(

**(BLD)**

It was his reaction that he needed, and it was his reaction that gave himself away.

Ellis' eyes grew double in size, his jaw dropping as his face turned white. All shock and fear.

"I-I didn't mean- I was just-" Ellis slid the towel from his head, feeling silly now, and backed into the bathroom slightly. He felt like a child who'd been caught sneaking into the cookie jar. He couldn't help it and he blushed madly, cursing himself mentally for being such a screw up. Ellis was sure that underneath that calm exterior Nick was boiling with rage and disgust. He could just imagine all the names he'd call him, all the remarks he'd make. And forget sleeping in the same bed.

Hell, the conman would probably rather leave him like the others did! What guy would want to be around Ellis if they thought he had a gay crush on them?

God, he was such a dumbass!

Nick's eyes widened.

So his mind _wasn't _playing tricks on him!

An image of Ellis, slicked with the shower's spray, face twisted in pleasure came to mind.

But what was this supposed to mean? Was Nick really going to go after _Ellis_? Not that he hadn't given it any thought, but…

What if this was just a onetime deal for the mechanic, just trying to be a little adventurous with his sexuality?

There was a somewhat awkward silence in the air, Ellis fidgeting with his hands behind his back, chest heaving slightly. His eyes were to the ground, but Nick could see how red his face was, how embarrassed he looked. Almost ashamed.

Nick stared in amazement.

He'd never looked to innocently guilty, so panicked and humiliated.

He wanted to remember this moment for the rest of his life.

Before long, though, he burst out in laughter, "Ellis, I'm just asking. Jeez." He took another spoon full of corn into his mouth, chuckling around the food. He was going to analyze this before he went any further. Just better hold his cards back before showing them.

"Something woke me up, I was just wondering what it was." He swallowed the bit of corn in his mouth before adding on, "You really _are_ edgy."

He could visibly see Ellis shoulders slump in relief in his peripheral.

"Oh…" he scratched at his damp hair a bit awkwardly, his hands actually shaking. He pulled them down to hide behind his back once again. He didn't want Nick seeing how affected he was, even though he was pretty sure he had just made a big fool of himself.

As Nick finished his can, he set the spoon in it and gave a big yawn. His stomach bulged slightly as he stretched his arms over his head. He swore he'd gained a couple pounds during their little vacation.

"Alright, Kiddo. Bright and early tomorrow, we're searching for gas again." He told Ellis, who by this time was working up the courage to actually climb into bed alongside Nick.

"Alright, we can hit up that one gas station we saw today down further on the road." He spoke, staling a little by fixing his clothes by the bed, folding them and putting them in a neat stack.

The conman obviously saw this, and almost laughed. Ellis usually scattered his clothes about like a storm had come through the room. He must really be nervous.

But, Nick frowned, "Fuck that. We're just gonna check cars from now on." He set his empty can on the side table, and then stood.

As Nick stood, Ellis took advantage of it and slid into bed. He did it in a manner that he hoped didn't seem too suspicious.

Nick stretched again, this time though, he started unbuckling his pants. Ellis ears perked at the sound of the metallic buckle being shifted and the sound of leather sliding across fabric. He didn't dare look over.

Nick let his pants fall to the floor and he then bent and picked them up to fold and set with his blue shirt. He hadn't been able to sleep in his boxer briefs for a while.

He smiled comfortably as he got into bed, under the blanket. He was actually _smiling_, and over something as trivial as sleeping with underwear on.

Alright, and maybe because it gave him a chance to fluster the Kid a little.

Ellis swallowed and rolled onto his side, away from Nick, "Night…" he spoke, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

Nick was still adjusting and getting comfortable as he responded, "Night."

That night, Ellis barely slept.

* * *

Nick landed on the side walk with a grunt. He had mentioned something about removing the furniture from in front of the door, so at least they could get in and out more easily, but Ellis hadn't been paying too much attention, his gaze fixed on an infected that he proudly shot right between the eyes a few seconds later.

Ellis came soon after him, his heavy work boots stomping on the ground.

"Alright. When we get these cans filled, we take them to the boat, empty them, and search for more." He told Ellis, already starting to wander behind the house in search of some sort of tubing, or water hose.

Ellis nodded, following close behind. It had been awhile since they'd done something _productive_ and not just mindlessly killing zombies to get through the day. It was starting to feel somewhat relaxing.

Then Ellis' mind flashed to something completely off the current topic, but still relevant.

"Hey…" Ellis spoke up, pausing in his steps to tackle the water hose.

Nick paused too, his hand in midair as it reached for the hose, looking up to Ellis in his slightly crouched position.

"Have you noticed we ain't been seein a lota zombies lately?" Ellis had stopped staring at the water hose and was now inspecting their surroundings.

Nick's brow furrowed, and he too stood more erect to glance around. "Holy shit." He commented, staring a bit dumbfounded as it indeed seemed there were less zombies around. They hadn't even come by any special infected except that one Jockey, and that was a day ago.

"Damn, man." Ellis pulled his hat up by the bill to itch at his forehead. The backyards were empty, and he remembered only seeing that one infected from earlier.

"What's this mean, Nick?" he asked, trying to figure it out himself.

Nick scoffed, "You're asking the wrong guy, Overalls." Nick continued to retrieve the water hose, still amazed at the fact, but still had a job to do. They could talk more on it later, when they didn't have to worry about losing daylight.

The pair kept a closer eye out for zombies, though ironically, there were less than when they had been paying less attention. The first few cars Ellis had attempted to syphon were tapped out. They had better luck on a yellow convertible, getting half a gallon.

With the way Ellis handled the task, it reminded Nick how awesome a mechanic the Kid was. He remembered the time Ellis was able to rig up a system to where they could heat their food using car batteries.

As Ellis finished getting the last few drops into the tank Nick decided to dig into him.

"Hey, El." He got his attention, allowing him to walk past on his way to another car.

"Yea?" he responded, heading for a car not too far from their position.

"Did you ever want to be anything else, besides a mechanic, when you were a kid?" he asked, casually.

Ellis turned and gave Nick a look. How unusual of Nick to start asking about Ellis.

"What? I can't ask a question like that?" Nick defended himself, folding his arms over his chest.

Ellis chuckled lightly, continuing along his path, "No, you can, you can. It's just, you ain't the type to be asking _me _the questions." He chuckled again.

It was true, in the beginning Nick couldn't get Ellis to shut up with all his questions, about him, about his suit, why he had these scars, why he was a gambler, and about a thousand other things that were considered _personal._

Nick smirked, "Fine, I'll stop." He mocked offense and went silent.

Ellis turned again, a worried edge to his features, "Hey, now. I didn't mean it that way. You ask me all the shit'chu want." He told Nick, giving him a reassuring nod. "I'll answer'em the best I can."

Nick grinned, "Good to know." Obviously, he was still able to convince Ellis of anything. Ellis gave him a smile, and Nick smiled back.

At this point, they'd stopped walking, and Nick raised a brow, and slowly began to tap his foot to emphasize his impatience.

"Oh!" Ellis chuckled a bit nervously and began walking again and soon started to answer Nick's question, "Well, when I was old enough to start thinking about what I wanted to be, my first thought was bein a mechanic, like my Pa." He came up to the next car, getting the syphon set up. "But then, a couple years later, I started thinkin, and I really didn't want to be doin the same thing my Pa got stuck doin. Cause, actually, he had wanted to work in a bank. Yea, weird, I know." Ellis never got why his father had wanted to work as a bank teller, and he guessed he never would.

"I thought that if I ever had the chance to be somethin greater than a mechanic, then why not go for it?" he spoke, almost philosophically.

"I wanted to be a lot of different things, for a long while." He paused to tap his knuckles against various parts of the car, "I wanted to be a fireman for the most part of my childhood." He grinned wide, apparently a few memories crossing his mind.

Nick smirked, imagining a younger Ellis, running around in a fireman's hat and playing with red fire engines. Cute.

After trying to suck out any gas that might be left in the vehicle and coming up fruitless, Ellis stood, "And then, for a long time, I wanted to work as an EMT. Well, back when I was younger, I didn't know that's what they were called, so I called it the ambulance job." Ellis chuckled again, shaking his head a bit.

"Then, I wanted to be a farmer after we visited the state fair and I saw this _huge_ tractor." Ellis emphasized the word by dragging it out and making his eyes wide.

Nick wasn't surprised by the last one, and he snickered before straightening back up.

"But then, eventually, I realized it wasn't the _jobs_ I liked, just the _cars_ and _trucks_." He explained, getting to a knee in front of another car. "My Pa had always been teachin me about cars, and fixin'em up… I guess I wanted to prove that I could do more."

Nick wasn't expecting a whole in depth explanation and reasoning, but it was sort of refreshing to hear it from Ellis.

"I told myself that it wasn't because that's what my Pa wanted me to do, but it's what _I_ wanted to do." Ellis snaked the tube inside the car and began to suck.

After a few moments, Ellis quickly pulled away and set the end of the tube in the gas can. Trickling gas accompanied the background of the end of Ellis' response, "So, when I was sixteen, I decided that I wanted to be a mechanic. And that was that." He smiled to Nick for a brief moment before drawing his attention back to his task. It made Ellis happy, in a way he couldn't quite understand, to know that Nick wanted to learn these things about him. He didn't dare question it, though, in slight fear of the answer.

The remainder of the cars tank wound up filling the one half full tank and most of the second one. It was enough to make a trip to the boat, and on their way, they counted the few infected they came by.

"Man, that was only, like, three." Ellis commented.

Nick let the M60 fall to his side as he glared at the last infected he'd shot down. Usually they couldn't go walking down the street like this, so open and vulnerable. Infected would be pouring from the allies to get a piece of them.

"Yea. I don't know whether to be worried, or relieved." Nick responded. After another moment of silently watching for movement around them, Nick finally gave up, "C'mon. We're almost to the boat."

They trudged forward, stepping over the bodies, nearing the docks where they last saw their boat.

As Ellis made it first to the double doors of the small boat house, he paused, eyeing the doors suspiciously. Before Nick could get out a few syllables in a question, Ellis _shushed _him. Soon after, he set an ear to the cool metal.

Ellis frowned, then pulled his head away to pull the doors open, and at the same time, whipped out his pistol. Once the doors were fully open, Nick understood. Standing in the middle of the boat, wobbling aimlessly, was a girl, dressed in something resembling army garb, with the multi-shades of green. Her head snapped to her left, blood and drool dripping from her open mouth with the motion, her yellow eyes now dead set on the two men. She gave a low growl, and her body crouched, ready for attack.

But that was as far as she got before Ellis stuck a bullet in her skull.

"Make that four." Ellis commented offhandedly, stepping inside the building.

Nick groaned, following in after him, "How many bodies am I going to have to drag out of this boat?"

Ellis chuckled, hopping inside the boat, "I'll get it." He told him. "Wouldn't want'chu breakin a nail." He laughed, already lifting the girl by the torso.

Nick guffawed at Ellis' attempt at an insult. Instead, he set his right hand out, displaying his nails in the air, examining them much like a woman would after a nail job, "I'm glad you noticed. I just got them done." He smirked down at the boy.

Ellis laughed harder, his eyes pinching shut briefly before he set the body in the water, letting it sink to the bottom to let it join its new companion. The playful words ground against the mechanics actions in a sharp contrast.


	8. Chapter 8

He was running.

It was apparent he'd been running for a long time because his lungs were on fire, and his muscles were numb to the pain that was surely there. His steps were frantic and erratic, and yet…

He had no idea what he was running _from_. Still, he knew he was scared out of his mind.

It was dark, but the moon provided enough light to illuminate his steps. He was in a forest, tall trees surrounding him, becoming dense enough in some patches to block out the moon, leaving him helpless in the dark for a few moments until he ran further. And somehow he'd gotten separated from the others.

Or, had they been taken down…?

He didn't want to think about that possibility, so he shoved it from his mind like a repressed memory and kept running.

He needed to find them, and desperately. He went to grab his gun that he knew had been strapped to his back, but, to his shock and terror, it was absent. He let out a hissed growl, but kept running. He knew he couldn't ever stop running, he knew he had to get away.

But from what?

"Coach!" he yelled, and the thought of whatever he was running from might hear him never crossed his mind.

The forest seemed to echo with an ominous tone that only made his anxiety worse.

"Rochelle!" he yelled once, took in a deep inhale and repeated, "ROCHELLE!" still, no answer, except for the few crows that got rustled by his call and flapped away, a few dark feathers fluttering down and momentarily obscuring Nick's view.

Their loud caws disoriented him, causing him to stop, but only briefly, and in that expanse he determined that he needed to hide.

It was cowardly, and childish. But Nick wasn't too worried about his pride at the moment, and choked down his hubris, now searching for a tree he could hide in.

Most the trees, unfortunately, were too tall and thin. He'd need to find another way.

In the darkest parts of the forest, where his keen eyes couldn't penetrate, he saw figures, boxy and rectangular. They sat low on the ground, and had different sizes. He kept wondering just what they were, but then he saw it.

It was a large stone building, and its door, if it even had one, was gone.

"Yes." Nick hissed out, quickly changing his course to head for the building. Though, as he got closer and closer, it was becoming apparent just what the building was.

A mausoleum.

His pace slowed just in the slightest, so he could take in his surroundings. The rectangular shapes that sat low to the ground were tomb stones. Nick was in a graveyard.

He shook his head, trying to break the fear that encased him, and finally made it inside the above ground tomb.

Nick came to a stop, letting himself fold in half to rest his hands on his knees to take in deep breaths. The air was dry and dusty, and as he took a look around, he realized there was a set of stairs that lead down, deeper into the ground.

Nick swallowed hard, contemplating his options. He could stay right in this spot and risk the chance that what he's running from might see him, somehow.

Or, he could go down the stairs.

He decided to stay put, and risk it. He was always a good gambler, but the unknown dangers that lurked further into the crypt were not inviting.

He sat against the wall and took to staring out the entrance. Hopefully what evers chasing him will pass by, and then Nick could get back to finding-

"Nick…."

Nick flinched, his head snapping directly to the stairs.

It was faint, barely audible, muffled by the stone walls, but he knew someone was down there, calling him, but-

"Nick!" This time the voice screamed it, and with the slightest bit of a country twang, it echoed all around him in the small room, making him freeze up.

"Ellis…" Nick whispered. Ellis was down there, and he sounded hurt.

Nick forgot about the imaginary dangers the stairs lead to and quickly sprang up. He took the steps three at a time, and tried hard not to think about how it kept getting darker and darker as he descended.

"Ellis! Ellis, I'm coming!" he yelled to the young man.

He fished around in his pants pocket for a flashlight, fumbling for a few seconds before quickly illuminated his steps. The end came near, and Nick could tell there was a room at the bottom.

"Ellis? You in here, Kiddo?" Nick edged into the room, cautiously. The room was almost entirely empty, with only an eerie wood burning stove that sat on the opposite wall from the steps. What exactly it was meant for down there, Nick didn't know, and didn't particularly care.

Very slowly, yet all of a sudden, the room was filled with a low whine. It came from the far corner, in the darkest part.

It wasn't the fact that it sounded like Ellis and that he was in severe pain that made a chill go up his spine…but the general direction the sound _came_ from.

It sounded like Ellis was on the ceiling.

There was a very distinct feeling in Nick's gut that told him not to shine the light in that direction. Whether it was in fear of what he might see, or what actually might be there, he didn't know.

But he knew that he'd made a bad gamble.

Nick turned on a dime and was sprinting back up the steps, pushing himself just as hard as he had only moments before, if not harder.

The flashlight he'd been wielding banged against the side of the wall, accidently breaking from his grasp as he pumped his arms to go faster and clattered back down the steps.

As he got higher and higher up the steps, and with the way the flashlight had fallen, Nick could see his figure silhouetted on the ceiling of the mausoleum.

It only became frightening when he could see a second figure being silhouetted by the light, and seemed to be crawling along the ceiling.

Nick screamed, a short, quick exhale that burst through the stair well. Then soon after, it screamed as well, though it was somehow in a mocking tone, trying to mimic the exact pitch and tone Nick had yelped.

It was a something, an _it_, yet it had the same voice as Ellis.

It screamed, and Nick could have sworn he felt its warm breath against the back of his neck.

To say he'd never run faster in his life would be an understatement. He was up and out of the mausoleum in seconds.

When he felt he was far enough away, he turned. His curiosity was eating him alive, and he just had to know what was-

"Ah, _SHIT_!"

It wasn't an it. It _was_ Ellis.

"NIIICK!" he screamed, a hoarse ,scratchy voice, his form leaping from the shadows of the mausoleum, with horrendously large claws scrapping the air, hundreds of sharp teeth that seemed to spill from his mouth, all at once, the moon light glinting against each one. His face was contorted into something so grotesque, and awful it hurt Nick to look at him. His bull shifters shirt had been cut to ribbons, in the torso, along his sides, and it barely clung to his body. His iconic hat was missing from his now bloodied, messy nest of hair, and his eyes…

His eyes were missing completely.

Ellis screamed, a blood curdling cry of pain, anger and rage, tearing from his body. Nick shrinked back at the sound. The two gauged out holes stared with an empty sense of death, his whole body heaving and then set to crouch. Nick forced himself to move, forced himself to look away from the empty eyes, and he bolted back into the forest. Was this what he'd been running from?

It had to be. Nick couldn't think of anything worse than to see poor, sweet Ellis transformed into that hideous creature that now chased after him.

He could hear his labored breathes coming closer, his stomping footsteps vibrating the ground.

Ellis growled and then made a sound much like an angry dog, barking. The sound was muffled by the way his teeth clashed against each other. It was a sickening sound, and only made Nick all the more frantic. Nick almost slipped on dew covered leaves, causing him to panic. He regained his balance a moment latter, cursing loudly, but his heart became a painful thudding drum in his chest.

Just as he thought he'd run all through the graveyard, he heard a loud crash, and then saw bits of stone and dust splatter and fling itself right in front of him. A large piece of rock hit him in the shoulder, and it sent him sprawling to the side, hitting hard against a tree trunk and then painfully to the ground.

He went to flip himself back over, but then he heard what had crushed the tombstone that knocked Nick down.

"GGRROOOAAAARRAAAAAAOOOOO!"

The Tank's murderous cry rattled the entire forest, sending Nick's bones shaking and his heart to pound harder.

He was running from the Tank.

He bolted back to his feet, no longer concerned about the mutated Ellis on his trail.

The Tank burst through the brush and was now knuckling its way after Nick, growling and howling as it went.

Though, what surprised Nick the most was to hear a cry from behind him, screaming, "Run, Nick!"

He turned again, just in time to see Ellis being lifted by the monster's enlarged hand. But, it wasn't the monster Ellis had turned into.

It was the sweet country boy Nick had grown accustomed to that was now being torn in half by the beast.

Nick's heart dropped right to his feet. And then was stomped on.

The Tank gave a mighty roar, its arms moving about over his head, victorious. Blood sprayed and splattered from the halves of Ellis in each fist. Nick couldn't watch this anymore.

Just when he turned and began to run again, the Tank threw it at him. It landed in Nick's path and he inevitably tripped over it and landed back in the cold dirt.

He looked back and saw Ellis' lifeless baby blues staring back at him. The Tank had thrown Ellis' upper body…

He couldn't hold it back anymore, and in a motion so utterly defeated, Nick curved his head away to throw up his stomach bile across the ground.

Tears washed down his face, but from what exact emotion, he couldn't comprehend. His whole body shook as a thought drifted through his mind.

He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't run. He couldn't hide.

He couldn't survive.

The Tank tromped right up to him, and Nick only turned away, accepting his defeat, but not wanting to watch it.

Instead of large hands he was expecting, a pair of strong, normal ones picked him up by the back of his suit's collar.

"Get up!"

The voice that yelled at him made Nick yank himself away, landing back on the ground, and turn an instant later. He couldn't believe his eyes. The person who was lifting him off the ground was himself.

"I said _stand_!" the doppelganger yelled. He looked furious, and ready for a fight.

Nick pulled himself up and faced his clone with unbelieving eyes.

So many questions swirled in his mind but before he could vocalize any of them, the second Nick reared back and cracked one across his jaw. It was powerful enough to send him back a few steps, and Nick had to flounder for a while so he wouldn't fall again.

The clone growled and shook out his fist. "You like running from your fears? Try running from **me**!"

The next instant, and without warning, the second Nick charged at him, yelling and forced him to the ground where he straddled him.

Nick coughed as the wind escaped his lungs, and it never occurred to him how the scenery had changed from the ominous graveyard to his house back in the city. The rough ground shifted to plush carpet, and the cold misty air turned warm and comfortable.

It all barely registered when he went for another punch. This time, though, Nick was ready, and he caught his fist, grabbing mostly at the wrist and with it, he twisted.

The clone Nick growled and was forced to roll away or risk getting his hand broken, though he didn't stay on the ground long.

Before Nick had the chance to stand again, a loafer covered kick was sent right into his gut.

Nick hacked, folding inward, and cursed aloud. That was dirty. Though, who else but Nick would kick a man when he was down?

The second Nick continued, kicking and throwing remarks down to his alpha counterpart. Soon, trickles of blood came oozing from Nick's mouth.

He still wasn't satisfied, so he bent and hefted Nick up once again, and pinned him against the nearest wall.

Nick tried putting up a fight, but it hurt so bad, and by moving it only made it worse. "Damn it…" he croaked out.

The beating lasted for much longer than Nick could remember. But, sometime between the last punch to the rib and him hitting the floor, Nick's perspective changed. It all shifted in a blink of an eye. He no longer felt the pain that was throbbing all along his body, but felt a tense anger swelling inside him. He felt his hands balled into fists, and a dull ache that indicated their use. He realized he was now touring over himself, watching as the clone feebly curled in one himself at an attempt at self-defense.

And he was now the one beating himself. Even though he'd become the dominate one in the fight, miraculously, he didn't stop the onslaught, and if anything, he ramped it up.

Nick reached and snatched his shirt collar and dragged him away from the wall so he could sit atop him.

He pinned his arms with his thighs on each of his sides, and began his attack again. Nick realized his was furious, but not at the clone, but quite literally at himself.

"Why…can't you…do…_anything_…right?!" he grunted after each punch to the bruising, bloodied face. Blood and sweat covered his own face, and his knuckles were starting to ache horribly. But he didn't stop. He couldn't.

"Why…are you…such…an _asshole_?!" he screamed down at the submissive figure, who by now, was probably already passed out.

The scenery shifted again, and the off white carpeting became hard white tiles. With the way the blood came pouring from the second Nick's face, and the way it filled in all the spaces in between the tiles, it started to closely resemble the time Nick had been beaten inside a crappy casino bathroom for cheating.

In fact, that's exactly what it looked like, because the next instant the second Nick was wearing the suit he'd worn the day it happened. It was even torn and tattered in the exact same places.

He pushed this fact out of his mind and just went into frenzy, sending even more blood to splatter onto the tiles, onto his own white suit.

Soon though, Nick stopped hearing the sound of his fists hitting the blood drenched meat of his face.

It didn't matter much, because with a force he hadn't known he had, he gave one final punch, and his doppelganger shattered, like so many pieces of mirrored glass.

* * *

Nick bolted upright, his face almost colliding into Ellis' own.

"Holy shit!" Ellis exclaimed, flying back to avoid the collision.

Nick was taking in ragged breaths, panting like he'd run a marathon, and was almost drenched in sweat.

"What…the hell…" he managed between breaths.

Ellis, who'd inched back on his behind, gave a hesitant laugh, "Well, it sounded like you was havin a-"

"Don't." Nick stopped him with an up raised hand. He didn't want to hear that, especially coming from Ellis. Nick couldn't count how many times the Hick had woken him up with puppy-like whining and whimpering in his sleep. Then again, it wasn't like he was screaming in his sleep, it's just that Nick was such a light sleeper it was hard for him not to get woken by much of anything.

So, usually, a zombie could be passing by the window and so much as sneeze, and it'd wake him. It was a miserable dilemma.

"Just…leave me alone." Nick urged him, racking a hand down his face tiredly. They were supposed to be going through the swamps in the morning. Their helicopter had crashed after Nick shot the pilot, who, by the way, had turned.

Nick had taken up a corner in the run down convenience store, using bundles of plastic bags as a pillow and several cheap gas station shirts as a blanket.

It was the best he was going to get, and if he didn't get enough sleep now, he'd be just like the freaks outside. Aimlessly wandering, moaning and groaning.

Ellis' brow furrowed, "Hey now, I just came over to see if I could get'chu to come out of it." He avoided the word Nick seemed to not want to mention, and scotched closer to the gambler so he didn't have to talk so loudly.

"You were startin to kick and punch the air. Sounded like you were tryin'ta beat'cha self up, or somethin." Ellis chuckled to hopefully lighten the mood, though with the odd look Nick gave him he had a feeling it didn't. His laugh trailed off into a light cough. Nick only sighed and let his back rest against the wall.

Outside, crickets chirped and other insects with unfamiliar calls sounded.

Ellis copied Nick's motions and sat up against the wall with him, silently listening to the night.

The conman realized, with a leer over to his side, Ellis was next to him and wasn't making an attempt to go off and sleep in his pile of flimsy cardboard boxes. He knew he wanted to talk, or just talk in general. Usually Ellis didn't get much sleep either, mostly due to his nightmares, but in another way, it seemed it was the only time he got to spend with Nick, and not have him shush him every time he opened his mouth.

It wasn't planned, at least on Nick's part, but it wasn't really an annoyance to have a little talk every now and then with the Kid. In some cases, it was cathartic.

He capitulated, and brought up a topic.

"What's the first thing you're gonna do when we get out of this?" Nick asked, though his tone didn't make it sound much like a question as much a robotic reflex. It was tired and bored.

Ellis brightened, Nick's tone not dampening the fact that he was actually, sort of, interested, "Well, actually, I been givin this a lot'a thought."

Nick could tell right away that this was going to be a long winded explanation, but he wasn't really listening anyway. He just needed to hear the Kid talk.

Don't get him wrong, it's annoying as fuck when Ellis brings up a story about him and that dumbass when they're fighting off a horde. But right now, as he whispered to Nick about eating a thousand cheeseburgers, with his face in a state of contemplation and focus, he could stand it. And it was actually quite enjoyable.

It helped take his mind off the crushing reality that they'd tried saving themselves twice already, and they'd yet to reach safety. It was starting to look pitiful for them, and Nick wasn't one to shy away from that information.

* * *

That'd been more than a few months ago, yet it still set fresh in his mind. Even though the Kid no longer had his nightly terrors, they still shared talks, because Nick still couldn't sleep some nights, and Ellis still liked talking with him.

Just as Ellis had poured the last drop of gasoline into the boat's tank, he let out a sigh. He had a few small patches of sweat that spread across his shirt, and he'd taken his hat off and set it on the driver's seat in the boat.

Today had turned out to be a swelter, and it seemed that the black top of the road would fry them alive if they stood on it too long. Nick had suggested they search for cars in shaded areas, but Ellis insisted they search regularly, and that the quicker the better.

Nick didn't fight his logic, but still felt bad every time Ellis squinted out the sun's rays and swept sweat away from his brow.

Nick had felt so bad in fact, he'd jogged back to the house and retrieved him a bottle of water. Ellis accepted it with a large grin and a "Thank'ya kindly."

Ellis turned to Nick, "So, that brings it to about half a tank." There was an excited edge to his tone, probably expecting to be able to drive the boat a bit, but with all the running around they'd done, it came out more exhausted than anything.

As Nick came up from his casual pose against the boat house' door frame, he brought the keys from his pocket, "Alright, let's see what we got then." Nick commented.

Ellis immediately perked, his tired eyes gaining that sparkle of excitement.

He stood, a little shakily; latching onto one of Nick's outstretched hands as he did so, "Alright, man. About time." He chuckled lowly.

Nick entered into the boat first, carefully setting one foot in, then the other. He took a seat in front of the wheel, grabbing up Ellis' hat to toss into the other seat, and didn't wait for Ellis before he swiftly cranked it up.

Ellis was just settling in when he felt the boat's engine rumble underneath them, and he gave an excited chuckle. He reached down, picking his hat up out of the seat and screwed it on over his head.

Then, suddenly inspired, he thrust into a story that reminded him much of this exact situation… in a way.

"Oh man, did I ever tell you about the time Keith tried usin his uncle's speed boat to race this other guy-" "Ellis." Nick gently called, not taking his eyes away from the gauges. It surprised him a little to hear Ellis bring up a story, he hadn't been for a week now. The mechanic was probably coming down from the anxiety high he'd been on.

Ellis chuckled and then quieted, scuffing his boot against the boat's bottom.

Satisfied with the levels, Nick gave a nod, "Seems good." He then stood with a tired groan and sat in the seat directly beside the driver's.

Ellis brow raised, but then realized this was Nick allowing him to drive, and he quickly made for the seat, laughing giddily, his previous exhaustion all but forgotten.

"Hell yea, man. This is awesome." Ellis commented, mostly to himself, and Nick chuckled.

He eyed Ellis as he started to maneuver the steering wheel with agile hands. "Can't remember the last time I got to do this…" Ellis trailed off as he went to the back corner of the boat and unhooked the rope attaching the vessel to the dock.

He plopped back into the seat, the boat instantly starting to bob and drift.

Ellis shifted into reverse and backed the boat out, slowly, careening his head over to watch his progress. Once they were clear of the small boat house, Ellis quickly turned them around, nose pointing away from the house's entrance. With the sway of the boat, it forced Nick into a lean, and he gave a warning look to Ellis, silently telling him to cool the jets.

Ellis gave him a lopsided grin, the kind that Nick had grown to hate for a very distinct reason, as he practically shrugging off his warning and sent the boat into full speed for a quick dash across the water. It was a short sprint, and Ellis got all the satisfaction out of it when Nick grumbled a slightly startled "The fuck, Ellis!" and had to grab onto the inside of the boat for some sort of balance.

Ellis bubbled with laughter, his fingers easing out of the speed and letting it come to a calm glide.

"Do that again, Overalls. I swear to God!" Nick groaned, wiping some of the water that had sprayed across his face away.

Ellis bit his tongue to keep himself from outright laughing in Nick's face, and slowly brought the boat back around, letting it go into a wide circle in the water.

The boat worked fine, and with gas now pumping through it, Nick felt more confident in his plan. Getting across the water was no longer an obstacle.

"Let's head back, Ellis. Save the gas." He told him when Ellis had brought the boat into an almost idle crawl along the water.

He nodded, "Alrighty." And brought it back up to speed, but not by too much to keep Nick from bitching, though his brows were still knitted a bit.

Once they got back to the house, Nick was going to grab the duffle bag and bring it back to the boat. He hadn't been expecting to get as much gas as they had that day, so he hadn't thought about bringing it along. Tomorrow, they'd make the trip to the other end.

As the boat came to a gentle stop into the boat house, Nick moved to hop out, and then reattached the rope at the tail end.

Ellis shut the engine off and gave a light chuckle as he started to toss the keys only to snatch them out of the air and swiftly set into one of his jump suit pockets. That small ride had been a lot more fun than he'd been expecting.

As they regrouped outside the boat house, Nick inhaled deeply, stretching his arms out a bit before flexing his back. He soon gave Ellis a nod and began the walk back to the house. It wasn't much of a walk, compared to the longer distances they'd had to traverse before, yet it still gave Nick that small prickle of annoyance knowing that he'd have to make the trip again that night.

* * *

After dropping the duffle bag off in the boat, Nick brought a hand up to cover over his mouth to stifle a yawn. The sun was dropping, and so was the temperature, though only slightly. It was getting late and Nick couldn't wait to shower, eat, and go to sleep.

With the far off look Ellis was making as he waited for Nick at the top of the dock, it seemed he was feeling about the same.

Ellis' head snapped to the right, suddenly.

It was so sudden Nick couldn't help but to notice and stop.

"What…?" he spoke in a whisper. A very dreadful feeling spread across Nick's entire anatomy as he stood in the middle of the dock, not quite to the end, but not quite to the beginning.

"…Nuthin…thought I heard somethin…" Ellis assured the gambler. It was a faint shuffle, a rustling of leaves, even. It was probably nothing at all.

Nick brows furrowed tightly, and he promptly strode over grabbed a hold of one of Ellis' elbows to get him moving. Once he was moving at the same rapid pace Nick was, he let go. Neither of them spoke it, but they were both worried about the same thing. Nick kept an even stride, moving with a fierce determination. Ellis breaths came out slightly wavering, his head swiveling back and forth, eyes sharp on their surroundings.

They hadn't been seeing zombies for days now, and it really was a hassle to carry around large weapons when you wouldn't be using it anyway. So when they made it back to the house, Ellis had set his hunting rifle down and hadn't bothered to pick it back up as they left for the second trip.

They'd made their trip with only Nick's magnum.

Nick had already been a little edgy about it, but reassured himself that it'd be a quick trip, and that they wouldn't be seeing any infected anyway. He wanted to smack himself.

Of course when they heard the tale-tale signs of one approaching, the decision instantly became a bad one, and it made Nick all the more edgy, reflexively reaching for his gun after every subtle sound, his fingers twitching. It was a familiar feeling that he hadn't felt in a while. It usually accompanied him while they trudged through dense, zombie infested areas. When they were all starting to get tense, with the knowledge that they were low on ammo, or someone had been seriously injured on their minds.

It wasn't fear. But more like severe anxiety that made him jump when someone so much as spoke up when it'd been silent only a moment before.

Nick was practically jogging back to the house, needing to get them off of the now very ominous road. Something about the deafening silence didn't set well with him at that moment, and Nick was just about to make a remark in his head about half expecting the worst to happen during the one time they felt like walking out of the house just a little under armed.

And then Ellis screamed.

* * *

What's really funny is that while I wrote the nightmare sequence, I listened to Honey Punch the whole time… ^u^

Anyway, if you guys were confused, the first part is a flash back of a nightmare Nick had during Swamp Fever. Oh, and please tell me how I did on the nightmare, because I feel like it's…I don't know, lacking? Maybe?

Just let me know, it's my first time writing a complete nightmare like that, I tried hard to make it terrifying.

Oh! And because this chapter reached over 4 thousand words, it is officially the longest chapter yet! I feel so accomplished. :P

**(BLD)**


	9. Chapter 9

Nick was aware of several things in that instant.

First, the ground started shaking violently, which surprised him enough to cause him to almost stumble to the ground.

Second, he heard the dreadfully familiar roar of what they've come to know as their worst nightmare.

Third, Ellis was screaming at him, and it made Nick's chest tight as he wrenched his head around to look back at him.

"Run, Nick!" The boy was frantic, suddenly blazing a trail behind him as he went into a full sprint.

He didn't hesitate in the slightest, picking a pace just as fast as Ellis', though Nick's eyes were still glued behind him as he ran, and he was able to see the hulkering beast tromp from around a building they had passed only moments before.

The Tank roared, its chest heaving and its voice earth shattering. The monster spotted them immediately, and Nick had to look away, because he could've sworn he had made eye contact with it.

"_Jesus fucking Christ_!" he cursed not only at the situation at hand, but to himself for not bringing at least a shot gun along. He was such an idiot for it, but he didn't have time to give himself a mental talking to.

The two of them ran side by side, straight for the house.

"Ah, _shit_…." Nick cursed again, realization hitting him.

Ellis gave him a quick glance, but then faced back down the road only a second later. The Tank gave a loud roar before he could speak up, "What?" he managed, yelling over the monster.

"We can't go to the fucking house. It'll just tear it to shreds. It's not a…a fucking safe house! Damn it…." His own words struck him, hard. That was one of the many reasons Coach had disapproved huddling in a normal house for all those months. The big man had been right.

"We have to turn around! If we can get to the boat, we can-" the sound of rock and asphalt ripping and tearing broke his concentration, and he turned his torso to see the Tank tearing a chunk of road to throw at them.

Nick grabbed Ellis by the arm and yanked him off the side walk and across the street to avoid the large chunk. It collided with a loud smack, the chunk shattering into clumps of dirt and smaller chunks.

"If we get to the boat, we can get out on the water. Those things can't swim, remember?" he yelled to Ellis.

It was easy for the mechanic to remember their escape from the swamps, Virgil coming in on his boat and the four of them quickly hopping aboard. A Tank had been hot on their tails, and as Virgil pulled away the Tank had tried coming after them, tromping out into the water, only to drown itself shortly after.

"Yea." Ellis confirmed, already starting to formulate a plan.

If he remembered the streets correctly, they could make a U-turn by crossing through an alley on their right.

When the Tank began after them when his throw failed, it growled, pulling in puffs of air that caused it to make an animalistic snort.

"Turn here, man!" Ellis yelled when they came up on the alley. They both turned at the same time, keeping a constant speed with each other, an unspoken rule not to let either fall behind.

It was a straight shot for fifty yards. In the back of Nick's mind, he hoped the small space of the alley would be too small for the Tank. But that thought was wiped out when he heard the loud tromping getting closer, and then was magnified when it turned into the alley.

"Fuckin tits…" Nick growled out.

As they broke through the alley, coming out on a residential drive, Ellis made a quick assessment as to where they were, and where they needed to go. "This way!" he yelled, and without looking back, grabbed Nick's forearm to make him follow. He didn't realize he was still latched on until Nick tripped slightly, yanking his arm free, but was still on his feet.

Ellis wiped sweat from his forehead, a bit of a nervous habit, and shook out his hands to get his mind to focus.

"We keep down this road till we make a right. Then we'll be back on the main road to the boat house." Ellis spoke breathlessly.

Nick silently nodded, not needing to speak his confirmation, or even second guess his judgment. He trusted Ellis.

It seemed that even though the Tank could fit down the alley, it still slowed it down. It roared in frustration as its large muscles scrapped and started ripping along the rough bricks leaving behind trails and smudges of dark, slightly congealed blood.

Once it finally came out of the confining alley, it rammed through the corner of a building with such force it shouldered the corner and a chunk of the building came off with a loud crash. It turned down the road it last heard the survivors on and just barely spotted them before they made the right turn.

It roared, lifting its mighty arms to beat against its chest, a disgusted sound of meat on bloody meat emitting in the air. It chased after them, tromping down the road just as fast as it could.

Apparently, the Tank's chaos alerted the nearby infected that had still been lingering around, because the next thing Ellis knows, he's deafened by the roar of a horde that he hadn't expected to even be possible.

"Man, I thought they weren't no zombies!" he yelled, exasperated by the whole situation. What happened to getting some sleep...

"Just shut it and run!" Nick yelled in response, sending a glare to Ellis. Right now was not the time, for anything really. A few internal wars were being fought inside him right now. If they got to the-

No. They _were_ getting to the boat. No _if_s.

When they get to the boat, they'd be avoiding the Tank, but there'd be no telling how long the horde would be sticking around, just waiting by the dock for them to come back. He _could_ throw one of the pipe bombs in the duffle…

Or they could go ahead and travel to the other side of the river…

No, they couldn't. Not without any guns. There'd be no telling how many infected were on the other side. It'd be an outright suicide mission. He'd just have to hope one pipe bomb could do it. He didn't want to waste them before he could even use them the way he wanted.

To both of their reliefs, the small boat house came into view only a second later. "Thank God!" Ellis managed, though it came out shaky from the fear he was having a hard time disguising. This was probably one of the worst case scenarios they could ever encounter only made worse by the lack of their other two teammates.

Nick's heart gave a tremendous thud as he heard the Tank rounding the turn. "Thank him when we're safe!" he spat back.

Just then, three infected tore through shrubbery and landed themselves in front of the two. Ellis gave a surprised yelp and jumped back, knowing he didn't have any sort of weaponry, he could only dodge.

Nick unholstered his Magnum a beat later, effectively sending bullets into each one of their heads, two through the center of their forehead, and then literally right between the eyes of the last.

"C'mon!" Nick yelled, glaring behind him to see the Tank had caught up some as he went back into a sprint.

The horde was starting to close in, infected now running after them from behind and coming out of nowhere to their sides. "Damnitdamnitdamnit…" Nick seethed through clenched teeth. He slowed just enough to make his aim steady as he shot off the closest of the infected around them.

"If I were you, Ellis, I'd be looking for a hitting stick!" he growled to the mechanic, the knowledge that he was running almost completely on empty when it came to bullets was ringing through his ears, and jolted him after every shot he took, more so than the force of the fire. Though, he didn't admit it out loud, not wanting to panic Ellis any more than necessary.

Ellis took the cue and began searching, though he still kept up his run, through alleys, on stoops, down the street. He perked when his eyes landed on the handle of something sticking out from under a truck on the road. His pace quickened even more to get a hold of it, and as he bent and retrieved it, he gave a non-displeased nod as it turned out to be a Louisville slugger, and went back to running, catching up to Nick who had slowed to a walk. Half to aim properly at the zombies as he shot, and half to stay close to Ellis.

"I'm in the game now!" he shouted, raising the bat with an impressive handling. Nick barely glanced at Ellis with his new weapon, but as he looked away, Ellis could've sworn he'd smirked. As soon as an infected came up to him, he swung the bat with an incredible force, his whole demeanor slightly more relaxed as he now had something to work with.

The infected's body rose off the ground by an inch, and twisted as its head snapped off its shoulders and landed some feet away. Ellis chuckled darkly and gave the bat a swing in a circular motion at his hip.

Though his momentary ease sizzled up when a chunk of road landed right in front of them. That time, neither of them even heard the Tank ripping its projectile, and it sent a shiver up Nick's spine.

"Almost fucking there, goddamn it!" he shouted, running around the rock and glanced behind him, to track the Tank. Sure enough, the beast was even closer than before, it's growling and roaring more angered with their proximity.

Ellis had half yelped, half gasped as the asphalt landed just at his feet, stumbling as not to run right into it, and worked hard not to lose his balance as he ran around the opposite side as Nick.

They ran in cadence once again, slowing only to knock off and shoot at infected they came too close. Their only relief was that there were so few infected, and they had been spread apart over large expanses, the horde came in several small groups, one at a time, that were easy to pick off.

They just hit the sidewalk that lead down to the dock when they heard a high pitched shriek, signifying that a Spitter were close.

"Fuck…" Nick mumbled, not at all pleased to have to deal with the long necked bitch.

It didn't matter anyway, they were getting to their dock with each heaving step-

And the Spitter came from behind a tool shed, tucked away in one of the backyards. Neither of them had time to even respond before she reared back and spat a long stream of the neon green goo, right in their path.

Ellis saw it and made to jump from the side walk, landing on the sloped plane of grass that lead into the lake. The worst that happened was his boots got drenched. Though, Ellis' heart skipped a beat when he realized Nick wasn't going to be so lucky, and with a belated yell of "_Nick, look out_!" he watched the man tumble.

Nick had so much momentum it was almost physically impossible for him to stop the way he wanted, and instead of coming to a tiptoed halt right at the edge of the popping and sizzling goo, his upper body became top heavy and with a continual stream of vicious cursing, he drew his arms in quickly as he tried to tuck into a roll out of the goo as he fell into the green mess.

Ellis screamed, "NICK!" and quickly trudged back up the slope, his water soaked work boots slowing him considerably.

Nick had managed to tuck and roll, and once he had gotten clear of the goo, he sprung to his feet, a very audible hiss escaping him as he made for the lake. Ellis had just made it back up to the side walk when he watched Nick run into the lake, hands frantically cupping water and splashing on his face.

"Did it get'chu in the face, Nick?!" Ellis quickly retraced his steps as he went to Nick's side, his eye switching from Nick to the approaching Tank. The gambler only grit his teeth in a tight clench, eyes shut with pain and frustration as he brought up a sleeve to swipe at his forehead and the left side of his face. Most the goo got on his suit, but it never did any damage to their clothes, it would soon evaporate out, no harm done.

Ellis winced when he saw how inflamed and red Nick's skin looked, but the good news was he'd gotten it off quick enough for there not to be any permanent damage.

"Fucking bitch…FUCKING BITCH!" he cursed as he turned and stormed back up the slope, his pace coming back to a sprint as he hit the side walk, dodging the goo this time around. Ellis followed close on his heels, eyeing around, watching for both the Tank and the elusive Spitter.

Thankfully, he spotted her a second later, running behind a brick house. It seemed she was going to leave them alone for a little while.

Ellis gaze suddenly flew behind him as he realized the Tank was now uncomfortably close.

It was a miracle though, because they were soon running across the small bridge leading to the boat house-

And Ellis heard it.

Ripping and tearing, the Tank dug into the earth, shredding sidewalk to pieces and gave a murderous roar before it hefted it over its head.

Ellis only had time to get out a desperate "_Nick!_" and shot an arm forward, grabbing the Gambler at the waist and pulling with all his might _back_.

Nick gave a startled gasp, though didn't fight it and the two men landed in a heap on the floating dock, just in time to see sidewalk gliding over them, dirt and dust sprinkling over their forms as it went…

And flew right into the boat house.

The Tank roared, its giant fists beating the ground, screaming furiously at the two survivors it has yet to kill.

Nick shifted off of Ellis quickly, the small dock having been hit with such a heavy force began to bob and shiver massively. In the back of his mind, he had a feeling the colossal beast wouldn't dare try treading across the thin floating dock, so he had a small bubble of security around him as he stood and gawked at the giant piece of concrete that now prevented them from opening the double doors, having crushed them.

"We're gonna have to swim for it, Sport." He spoke in a barely maintained, calmed fashion, hurriedly pulling Ellis to his feet by the arm.

At first, Ellis snapped his head around and stared incredulously at the Gambler. But then realization hit, and he only so much as nodded before crouching a bit, then dived into the lake, his head popping back out of the water a few seconds later. Nick smirked lightly when he saw the hick clutching one hand on his doused hat.

Nick was soon to jump in after, not caring to give any style in his plummet, merely stepping one foot out and letting his body fall, one hand clasped over his mouth and nose.

Ellis began a fast trudgen stroke out to the rest of the distance between them and the boat house, and quickly got around the building from the open end. He grasped at the wooden boards, pulling himself up and out of the water, his entire body drenched.

"Oh Lord…" he mumbled as he shook out his body, then reached into his coveralls and retrieved the boat keys. He tossed them about, trying to angle the right key into his fingers, as he hopped into the boat.

Nick came paddling around soon after, water sloshing and causing the boat to waver. After Ellis quickly cranked up the boat, he hopped back out, barely giving the motion any thought beforehand and helped Nick out of the water with both hands, hauling the soaked gambler up and onto the wooden boards.

Nick shook out his hair and then brushed through it with a hand a couple times, "In the boat." He spoke gruffly, already drifting in that direction.

Ellis obeyed, taking a seat in the driver's seat then looked back at him. He paused for a moment, watching Nick gently pad his palm over his burned skin, eyes slightly pinched.

"Ya'Ok, Nick?" he asked gently.

He sighed deeply, but his voice sounded more eased and calmer than moments before, "I'm fine... Just hurts like shit." And he stepped into the boat, slumping into the passenger seat.

There was a moment where neither of them talked, eyes forward, staring blankly at the bent and destroyed doors of the boat house, listening to the oncoming horde that rushed over the bridge. Half of them made it to the doors, banging against the rock in their path, and the majority were either knocked off or tripped off the bridge landing in the water where they drowned. Neither of them made a move to get going. It was a short moment, as Nick gathered himself mentally, and Ellis silently worried over him.

"Back it up." Nick commanded, and a second later, the boat was drifting in reverse, taking them out of the boat house and into the vast lake behind them. As Ellis maneuvered them around, Nick reached back into the boat and plucked up the duffle bag they had dropped off only minutes before, unzipping it with a harsh jerk of his wrist and shoved the same hand inside to fish out a pipe bomb.

Before Nick could even give Ellis the command to move them closer so Nick could throw the bomb, the Tank roared, spinning around in the dirt, and thundering away in the opposite direction.

At first, it seemed the Tank had finally given up, and was wandering off in search of others to destroy.

And then Ellis noticed the disgusting drips of green that had been splattered all over it.

Almost immediately, the infected that had been coming after them, were now scrambling back over the bridge, and heading to attack the Tank, unafraid of its size and capabilities, and only enraged by the boomer bile that had been sloshed over the beast.

Ellis, not quite sure what just happened, brought the boat closer to shore, but minded his limit.

Nick, carefully standing to get a better look, started mumbling, "What in the fuck…" and then suddenly, one hand shot out, pointing in the direction of a roof top, "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, his face alighting with pure surprise and shock.

Ellis quickly followed his invisible line, eyes swiftly searching out the-

And his jaw dropped.

Standing on the roof top, one foot propped on the lip of the building, body crouched in a posture ready to pounce, was a person.

At first glance, they closely resembled a Hunter with the way they were shifting and swaying, but the large katana in their right hand told Nick and Ellis otherwise.

"Are you fucking seeing what I'm-" but before Nick could finish his astonished statement, the person was running across the roof.

The Tank had started after them, his giant arms now hauling itself up the side of the building, going after them, angered that they'd thrown the bile jar at it.

"Oh my God…" Ellis whispered, the words barely escaping his lips. When he realized the person wasn't going to stop at the end of the building, Ellis was inclined to shout out to them, warn them that they were about to fall through to the alley, when they jumped.

"The fuck!" Nick yelled, hands bracing against the dash as he shifted forward.

Ellis' worry went for nothing, because the agile person landed on the roof of the next building.

The Tank roared, coming up to the gap and realizing it wouldn't make it over, quickly flung itself off the building to start climbing up the next.

Just as it got one hand up to lift itself, gun fire cracked out from above it, coming from the military assault rifle wielded by the person Nick could now see was a girl. The prominent swells on her chest gave it away, although every other part of her was hidden. She had a bullet carrier that was wrapped around her waist, and her hair was short, and closely resembled a boy's haircut. Even her eyes were hidden, obscured by a pair of snow goggles that tinted the glass.

The sword they'd just seen her with was now strapped to her back, and Nick noticed then that her hands were covered in black gloves. Her clothes, a pair of baggy dark gray shorts, combat boots, and a button up light green long sleeve shirt, with the sleeves folded to her elbows, revealed little to them, other than the fact she'd been fighting for a long while.

She was washed in blood, splatters all along her arms and smudges on her shorts, speckles that stained everywhere, accented by slashes and tears in various parts of her clothes. Before Nick could observe anymore, the girl stopped firing, reloaded and went to the far edge of the building, the opposite side from where she'd landed a moment before, and turned.

She sprinted, one hand clutching her rifle to keep it still, and the other pumping along her side. She jumped for a second time, onto the building she'd just came from, and as soon as she landed she arched around and took aim back at the Tank, who'd by then made it onto the roof of the other building.

Nick caught on fairly quickly, "She's gonna tire the fucker out and kill it slowly…" he mumbled to himself, but the incredulous look Ellis swiveled around with told him he'd heard anyway.

"Nu-uh…No way, man!" Ellis stated, unbelieving of the tactic the girl was trying to pull off.

The girl only needed to hop along the buildings a few more times until the Tank started to slow and eventually stopped trying to climb at all, but ineffectively clawed up at her on the building, growling with a tired edge to its voice. The girl was able to gun it down in a matter of minutes, killing the beast as it sat at the sidewalk below her.

The infected that had scrambled to follow after the Tank once it'd gotten hit with the bile now attacked with renewed anger, animalisticly slashing at the body that smelled so foul.

The girl, with a relaxed swagger swayed her gun to aim down at the infected, picking them off in quick succession. Soon, the mess that had been created was cleaned up by the girl with the sword.

Ellis found himself quickly dragging the boat over to the bridge, planning to anchor it right there, setting the rope on one of the posts. Nick didn't object.

The girl glanced up from her perch and smirked, an excitement filling her unlike the one she got when mowing down infected. With a quick scan, she found the nearest dumpster with a closed lid and leaped, landing perfectly in the center, then slowly stepped off. The clatter it caused went unnoticed, all the nearest infected dead on the ground.

She let her gun dangle on her shoulder, in between her arm and ribs and she pulled her leather gloves just a little more taught over her hands as she walked calmly to the bridge.

Nick and Ellis were barely able to keep from running right up to her, their eyes wide as they approached.

They both got to the very start of the bridge before they stopped, each seeming to just absorb the fact that there were still other survivors.

Now that they were closer, Nick saw just how banged up she was. A bandage was wrapped around her right calf, a dark red stain indicating a wound embedded deep. A pattern that distinctly outlined a bite wound in blood adorned her upper left arm, going right through her light green shirt.

Nick also noticed a few other odd things, like how she was wearing shoulder and knee pads, a red bandana tied to her upper right arm, and Nick was pretty sure that was a hand cuff that ringed around her left wrist. Only two links were still attached to the cuff, the second cuff to the pair apparently cut off.

He gave a slow swallow, not sure of what exactly to say. But then he was saved, because the girl spoke up first.

She lifted a hand and pulled the goggles down her face to let sit around her neck, revealing dark brown eyes, shadowed by the black streaks of messy hair that lightly fell in her face.

A smirk quirked her lip and a mischievous flex caused her brows to draw in questioningly. She uttered one word, a bit breathless, but confident none the less.

"Hey."

* * *

AN OC?! :L

Oh, and I do believe there was some Nellis in this chapter?

"_They both turned at the same time, keeping a constant speed with each other, an unspoken rule not to let either fall behind."_

"_Ellis only had time to get out a desperate "Nick!" and shot an arm forward, grabbing the Gambler at the waist and pulling with all his might back."_

Why yes. There was.

**(BLD)**


	10. Chapter 10

Tell me if the ending was cheesy, because reading it now… It kinda sounds cheesy. :I

**(BLD)**

She kept her weight mostly on her uninjured leg, leading Nick to believe her injury was recently achieved. There were a few fresh scratches on her arms, and then scabs of scratches, and even scars of already healed scratches. Her goggles, on closer inspection, were cracked in one corner, and covered in God knows what. The pads that decorated her knees and shoulders were covered in dirt and blood; with her ratty combat boots that fit the same description.

Her eyes, though, unsettled him.

They shifted back and forth between the two of them, twitching, really.

That's what snapped him out of his moment of exhilaration, that moment of excitement from meeting another living, breathing human being. He had to keep his mind straight, he had to stay focused.

Nick silently started a list in his mind, consisting of all the things he found… _unsettling_ about her.

He wasn't going to mention it to the hick, or probably even have time to, but he had a feeling this girl was going to be a big bag of fucked up.

When she suddenly laughed a bit nervously he realized none of them had said a word for a few minutes.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say there's no evacuation here anymore…?" It didn't really come out as a question, but it was implied that way. Her voice stayed mostly monotone, not a hint of desperation or weariness Nick would expect from someone like them, looking for evacuation only to get denied.

Ellis seemed to finally snap out of it, and slowly took his hat from his head to hold over his chest, "Well, I'm sorry to be the one'tuh tell'ya… But, yea. There ain't no more evac in New Orleans…" Nick watched Ellis' expression, but what he might've wanted to come out as an apologetic smile came out more like a grin you got when you were dying to give away a secret.

Giddy and excited.

Of course Ellis would be. He didn't have the skills Nick had to pick a person apart just by looking at them.

The girl sighed heavily, though her gaze never left them, and her expression stayed in its state of small amusement and quizzical, "I had a feeling…" she said it in an almost whisper.

"Hey, don't feel too bad! We were comin here for the same reason and when we finally got here, the military bombed it right in front of us!" Ellis offered, though whether it was meant to cheer the girl up or try and out do her, Nick couldn't tell.

Her smile turned into a smirk and her eyes squinted in the slightest at Ellis. Apparently she had the same thought.

"Anyway…" Nick piped up, speaking for the first time, "I'm Nick. This is Ellis." He pointed a thumb to Ellis in a stiff motion. After the initial shock and amazement of finding out that there were still others roaming around, Nick went into defense mode.

Last time they came upon a survivor, the man nearly killed them for their supplies. He'd even _warned_ Coach about that one. He could just see it in the guy, how he walked, how he kept glancing back out their book bags. He had it written all over his face.

But no.

Coach was dead set on accepting the guy into their group, already introducing themselves to him and practically telling him their life stories like they had done when the four first met up.

Nick was the only one who saw it coming when the guy held a knife to Rochelle's throat and demanded firearms and food.

That's why the guy barely got a "Give it to me now, or the girl-" before Nick sent a bullet in his head from behind.

After that, the others started looking at him differently. He didn't mind it, they had a right to feel what they felt for him. Just as long as they didn't _treat_ him differently.

This was bringing back memories of that situation, though the girl was definitely younger, maybe a little younger than Ellis, and she didn't look that bad. She had weapons and looked like she had medical supplies. The bandages proved that.

But she was giving them _that_ look, like she were sizing them up in preparations to kill them, or something.

"I'm Raven." She gave her name in return, tugging the glove off her right hand then stuck it out for a shake.

Ellis eagerly accepted, scooping up her hand in a firm shake, "Nice'tuh meet'cha." He greeted, a lopsided grin adorning his face.

Raven hummed a soft laugh and shook back, though it lacked the enthusiasm Ellis' did. When their hands finally came apart, there was a moment where it seemed Raven wasn't even going to acknowledge Nick.

He suddenly prickled when the girl held eye contact with Ellis for just a second longer than he would've liked. Her smile was warm, but had an edge of smoothness to it, like it were nothing for her to meet survivors every day.

Nick roughly stuck out his left hand, demanding her's in return.

That's when that smile finally faltered. She gave him a skeptical glance before she slowly let her left hand lift, not bothering to unglove it.

As Nick took her hand with a quick smack of skin on leather, blood and pure sludge smeared on his palm, but he sucked back his disgust and gripped her hand, shaking only twice.

Before she could pull away though, he pulled then twisted it slightly to get a better look at the cuff attached to her wrist.

"Sweet accessory you got there." He commented, smirking slightly as she yanked her hand from his inspecting eyes.

She didn't seem as perturbed as he wanted, but she gave him an annoyed glare, though a laugh bubbled from her, "Yea, had to get myself out of a couple situations. Couldn't find the key, so I guess its stuck there." She explained, subconsciously spinning the metal around her wrist.

"Oh man, that sounds like a cool story!" Ellis chirped, seeming oblivious of the electricity between the two.

Nick was suddenly aware that one way or another, this girl would be coming into their temporary home. A seething anger rose up inside him. He mentally cursed and bit his bottom lip for just a second, silently contemplating.

"We'll have time to be all buddy-buddy in the house. Let's get going." Nick roughly barked to them, already stepping around Raven and headed back for the house.

That's when Ellis noticed Nick being an ass. He hadn't acted that way since… The bridge.

Lately, he'd been relatively nice compared how he'd usually be. Ellis figured Nick was starting to finally simmer down. Those first couple days of the apocalypse, Nick had hardly been bearable, complaining, arguing, and cursing them out every chance he got. It had gotten better over a couple of weeks until his attitude plateaued to mostly grouchy.

But now, it seemed they were about to start back at square one.

It was probably because Nick barely trusted anyone, so with Raven popping up… He did have the right not to trust her, though; having gone through what they did with the _last_ survivor they met.

But Ellis had a good feeling about her. She wasn't hostile, wasn't asking a lot of questions about their supplies, and she didn't look crazy, like the last guy had.

She ran her ungloved hand through her short black hair and stared at Nick's back. "Is he always like that?" she asked gently, not looking too upset, but concerned none the less.

Ellis chuckled, "Nah, he's just a little cynical. When he gets to know you a little better, he'll calm down." He assured her.

Raven huffed a laugh and began after him, "Where'd you guys come from?" she asked conversationally.

Ellis perked, eager to start dialogue, "Well, I'm from Savannah Georgia. Don't rightly know where Nick came from, but we met up at this hotel. Oh man! Wait, I gotta tell you about the hotel!"

Nick let a sigh escape him, not the least bit excited to hear this again. Especially retold with color commentary by the hick.

He had walked with such a quick pace he had a few yards gained in front of them before he got to the house.

Nick growled to himself as he finally climbed into the window, deciding to roughly drag everything from in front of the door away. Those two had talked the entire way back to the house, and every time Raven would laugh or congratulate Ellis on something stupid, it made his annoyance grow just a little more. To prevent himself from doing something irrational, he lifted the heavy kitchen table and hauled it into the center of the kitchen floor, quickly grabbing the matching chairs to set around it. He made sure not to even look at them as they climbed through the window, Raven first, then Ellis.

"So, this guy, _Coach_, gets attacked by a Witch but is still able to carry you, _unconscious, _to a safe room?... No way." Raven scoffs, stretching her back then gingerly sat each of her weapons on the table in the living room.

"M'serious, man!" Ellis dropped the baseball bat he'd found in the corner, letting it slide down to the floor.

"Bullshit!" she laughed, shoving Ellis lightly by the shoulder. That's something Ellis noticed about her, there was a lot of gentle punches to the shoulder and soft shoves.

"Ask Nick, he was there too!" Ellis suddenly tried to get the busy gambler in on the conversation, but he hadn't been listening to a word.

"What?" came the annoyed response from the kitchen. He'd heard his name somewhere in there and wanted to know what was possibly being said about him. He was now separating the canned goods by what they could eat, like corn and peas and cans of condensed milk and heart of artichoke.

"Tell Raven Coach really did get attacked by that Witch in the sugar mill and he really did carry me to the next safe house!" Ellis yelled back, not bothering to actually go into the kitchen to speak normally.

Nick sighed, deciding not to respond.

Ellis continued on anyway, "It was crazy! After I woke up, Rochelle told me all about it. She said he was huffin'n puffin, and he didn't care that he was bleedin all over the place."

When Nick was satisfied with the few things he had done to calm himself, he decided to gradually step from the kitchen, walking into the living room to see the two hadn't taken but a few steps away from the window.

"If I can have your attention for a second…" he interrupted, his tone not at all apologetic.

Ellis had to abruptly stop his dialogue to listen and he soon took a seat on the couch, patting the cushion next to him in a friendly gesture to Raven.

Nick distinctly ignored that and went on, "So Raven. Ellis has been talking non-stop about our little adventure, but I haven't heard a single word about yourself." Nick used the most un-hostile tone he could. Though his narrowed gaze didn't help.

Raven smirked, "It's a long and boring story, really, but I'll give you the basics." Ellis snorted, apparently thinking otherwise, and without breaking her locked gaze with Nick, gently elbowed Ellis' side.

He snickered and shoved her arm away.

_When did they get so chummy… _Nick thought bitterly, borderline jealously.

Raven cleared her throat after that, "Well, I'm originally from Iowa. And let me tell'ya, the trip down was a _bitch_." She frowned subtly, eyes drifting just slightly to the right of Nick's head.

"_Iowa?_" Ellis suddenly spoke up, voice considerably confused, and as Raven glanced back at him from her lean forward, he looked incredulous.

"Yea…?" she answered slowly, not quite understanding what he was getting at.

"Why would you be comin to a New Orleans evac from _Iowa? _Ain't Iowa supposed to be infection free?" Ellis asked, suddenly very concerned, his body drawing up in a tense pose sitting up.

Nick's brows drew down, "Are you saying up North is infected?" he asked, arms crossing over his chest.

Raven looked between the two, now thoroughly confused.

"Unless we're talking about something other than the green flu, then yea. It's pretty infected up there." She answered, head giving a slight bob.

"Damnit…" Nick cursed, a hand going to thumb at his chin. He'd expected it to spread, but not like that. He'd expected some sort of containment effort from someone, if not CEDA then _maybe_ the military.

This was bad.

"Hey, explain this to me. We were kind of shaken rattled and rolled up there. There was talk of all sorts of shit, and yea the word zombie was tossed around, but no one took it seriously." It looked like she were grasping for answers, her eyes darting between the two of them frantically, "But, it was on us so suddenly, people barely had time to react before neighbors were tearing each other apart. And this _CEDA_ I've seen floatin around these parts... Yea, never got any of that where I'm from." She explained, a bitter edge to her tone, obviously still angry.

"Fuck, we didn't even see any _military_! It was every man for himself up there! I don't even know how I survived that shit, people were just shooting people, whether they were infected or not, nobody wanted to risk it! They didn't want it turning into New York… God, I hid in a kid's tree house for who knows how long… I waited till I stopped hearing gun fire… Found a working car and just… left." She finished, eyes settling into a stare at the carpet.

Her jaw kept clenching and unclenching, her hands adopting a firm squeeze on the edge of the couch. It was undoubtedly a tender subject for her.

Too bad Ellis didn't know any better.

"…Where's yer car now, Raven?" though he was visibly itching for more of her story, he contained his enthusiasm well with a gentle voice.

Surprisingly, she smirked and gave a soft exhale of breath that couldn't have been considered a laugh.

She shook her head slowly, "I should've looked at its plates… or the gas needle. It ran dry about half way into Des Moines." She smiled though it lacked any good feeling, "The damn car came from Pennsylvania."

It didn't come as a surprise as Nick took in a secret satisfaction from her misfortune, eyes narrowing slightly with a hint of a smirk.

"Damn, that sucks." Ellis commented, face screwing up in sympathy for her.

"So," Nick prompted, "If you didn't have any evac up North, how'd you know about this one?" he let himself lean up against the wall beside the window.

Raven looked up at him, "I was following a lead from a relative. She lived in Shreveport, heard about what was going on up in Waterloo, told me to come to New Orleans. It was one of the last phone calls I had." Her voice trailed off for a second, her eyes going unseeing as memories floated across them.

"When I tried calling her a day later, it went straight to voice mail. The next day, there was no service at all." She finished.

Nick nodded slowly. "And how long ago was that?"

"Heh…a month? Can't really tell." She smirked, relaxing back into the couch.

"It only took you a _month _to get here?" Ellis was shocked, though he was probably expecting her to have been on foot most the time, like they had.

"Well, I mean, I _did_ find _other _cars…" she explained, gesturing a hand around loosely.

With the way her arm shifted around, it left a smear of blood over the surface of the couch. She suddenly eyed it with a frown, "Ya'know, I don't even know if that's even my own blood or not anymore."

Nick sighed, not liking this situation at all. He was a second away from telling her to take a shower, but that would be a form of acceptance of her. Like it would be official, like she were part of their unit now.

But no, it was different now.

Nick and Ellis weren't a _unit._

They were just Nick and Ellis. He didn't know how he could explain it any better to himself, but they had become a part of each-other's lives. Honestly, Nick couldn't think of how it could've been without meeting Ellis. He suddenly didn't want to think about it at all.

As his gaze drifted to Ellis, he silently wondered how Ellis felt about it. Well, he obviously didn't feel the way Nick felt about it.

To Nick, it wasn't just letting a stranger in to their group… It was like she was intruding on them. Nick felt like somehow, someway, she was going to mess up what they had. And Nick didn't want that.

Whatever it was that they had, it was special to him.

It wasn't like they were a unit.

It was like they were-

"Good thing is about this place is it's got runnin water, so you can go wash up if'n you want." Ellis told Raven, giving her a pokey grin.

"Oh my God, a shower." Raven's voice took on a gravely tone at the thought, "I don't even know how long it's been."

Nick took the opportunity to break his mind from its previous train of thought. He had told himself before, he was going to just observe that little aspect about him and Ellis, and that whole realm.

But even as he led Raven to the down stairs bathroom, he couldn't stop himself from finishing the thought.

_Like they were partners._


	11. Chapter 11

Here's a quick update, guys. It's been the holidays, and my birthday is actually the 30th, but it's been awhile, and I just wanted to let you guys know I'm not losing interest or anything. :P

**(BLD)**

Ellis peeled wet clothes from his body, slinging them into a nearby basket. He'd gotten a couple pairs of clothes out for all of them to change out in, so they didn't have to put dirty clothes back on. He thought, maybe in the morning, he'd attempt laundry. Though they had running water, they still needed electricity to get the bulky washer and dryers to work, so he'd have to do it by hand.

Once he'd towel dried slightly, he slipped on a pair of snug boxers and a slightly too big white wife beater. Ellis had found a black one of the same size for Nick. He'd probably fit it better than he did.

He sighed as he let himself lean into the counter of the upstairs bathroom. In the light of only one flashlight, Ellis' face was dimly lit, and it created strange shadows on his face, creating an illusion that he looked older.

But really, he _was_ older, if only by a couple months.

His face looked more sunken in than he remembered. There were definitely a lot more scars. He let his right thumb slowly trace the scar down his jaw.

And then there was the muscle.

Ellis chuckled to himself, raising an arm to flex in the mirror. He felt and gripped at the rock hard bulge on his upper arm, "Yea, guess there's a little to be thankful bout this 'pocolypse."

A snicker coming from the bedroom made him jump, quickly turning to see a grinning Nick. He'd left the bathroom door open, and he was suddenly regretting it.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Nick spoke teasingly.

Ellis rolled his eyes, though he had definitely blushed a bright red for a moment. He coughed slightly and straightened up, eyeing himself in the memory one last time before taking the flashlight into the bedroom.

Nick smirked, one brow raised, as he watched Ellis plop onto the bed tiredly, setting the flashlight on the bedside table.

"Shut up…" he grumbled, dragging a hand down his face.

Nick chuckled, stepping to the bed and collecting the clothes Ellis had laid out for him, "Anyway," Nick began, "I told Raven she could sleep on the couch. I put a blanket down there for her and the clothes you set out, she has in the bathroom." Nick informed Ellis, taking his suit coat off and laying out across the top of the dresser.

He started unbuttoning his shirt, "In the morning, I want you to talk to her." He turned to face Ellis, giving him an expectant stare.

"I want you to get to know her, see what she's about. Feel me?" Nick folded his shirt and set it along with his coat, giving Ellis a critical glance.

Ellis scratched at the nape of his neck, "I guess. I mean, do you want me to see if she's… Well, damn, what exactly are you askin me to do?" Ellis was slightly confused about Nick's reasoning. He knew Nick still didn't trust her, and Ellis got that.

But did he really care what she was _about_?... What ever that meant…

Nick sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly. He took up the black wife beater and slipped it on. As Ellis had predicted, it fit perfectly.

"You may not see it, Ellis, but there's just something about her I don't like. I want you to find out what that is." Nick retrieved the boxers on the bed and slipped into the bathroom. He spoke through the door.

"I can't talk to her because I'm already a threat. I have a feeling she'll open up to you." The sound of buckles shifting and zippers sliding made Ellis' ears perk. As he stared at the door separating the both of them, for a moment, he wished Nick hadn't felt the need to go inside the bathroom for that.

The thought itself made him blush, and he quickly shook his head with a frown.

As Nick emerged from the bathroom only a moment later, his pants folded over his arm, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I found out why we haven't been seeing a lotta zombies lately."

Ellis perked, a brow raised, "Yea?"

"It seems that Raven's been trapped on the other side of town for a while, and she had most of their attention. She told me that she'd been running from that Tank until she could find more ammo." Nick took a seat at the foot of the bed after he set his pants with the rest of his clothes, resting back on his elbows comfortably.

"She finally got her chance when she got to the bridge. Apparently there had been a stash in the operating room." Nick shrugged his shoulders the best he could in his position. "Had no idea."

"Huh…." Ellis eyed Nick for a moment, not necessarily looking at Nick but in his general direction as his eyes clouded with thoughts. He had thought that maybe because there were only two of them, the zombies were less interested. Apparently not.

"Also," Nick spoke back up after a moments silence, "She said she dropped her bag by the bridge when a Hunter pounced her. I told her we could look for it tomorrow."

Ellis nodded once, "Alrighty." His head dropped for a moment as he tried to stifle a yawn, though it hardly worked.

Nick heard and smiled, "You tired, Sport?" he glanced at him for a moment, taking in his slightly slouched posture, and tired, slow blinks.

Ellis lifted a hand to rub his wrist into his eye, "Yea. Pretty beat from all that runnin around we did." then he chuckled softly at the end.

"We were about dead, man." He commented, not really in a critical or confrontational manner, but more in observation.

Nick stiffened.

His brows began to slowly knit together. Ellis was right. If Raven hadn't come along, they would've-

No. He was _not_ going to let himself think that.

They had pipe bombs, they could've taken that horde, _and_ that Tank.

He scowled.

"We had it under control." Nick commented back.

It was probably the tone he used, but Ellis suddenly glanced at him with a bit of concern.

Nick sighed, "I don't want to think about how the two of us couldn't handle ourselves -_when we clearly could_ – and then this one Kid comes in and saves us like that shit happens every day…" he grumbled, his hands balling up into fists at his sides.

Maybe that was part of the reason he didn't like her. She was just…

"Well I'm glad she came in and saved our asses…" Ellis interjected, frowning slightly at Nick.

Nick slowly turned his head the few inches it took to face Ellis. He didn't come back with a retort. He just looked at him for a moment.

"I don't want to tell her our plan." Nick suddenly changed the topic, hardly batting an eye.

Ellis was taken back, and it showed in his expression and voice as he spoke, "What? Why not?!"

"At least not yet." Nick elaborated, "Like I said, you need to get to know her." He then turned his head back forward, eyeing the door with a concentrated intensity.

"I'm not putting us at risk anymore. That shits done and over with."

Nick couldn't sit still just then, so he stood and started to pace lightly, from the end of the bed to the bathroom. He was suddenly inspired, and he wanted to get it out quickly before he lost his train of thought.

"Things are gonna change, Ellis. Things like benefit of a doubt. I hate to sound like a dictator right now, but if I don't agree with it…" he stopped just at the corner of the bed, staring down at Ellis, "It's not happening."

Ellis was growing more and more concerned by the moment. Nick was acting strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. Nick had tried to be a leader for the past couple days, but it seemed to have almost gotten them killed, though leaving their guns behind had been a unanimous decision.

"And another thing…" Nick continued, "Everyone's considered hostile until I say otherwise." He wrapped his arms around his chest to grip at his own biceps, and squeezed.

Ellis looked down to the carpet. What Nick was wanting wasn't entirely off the wall, or unreasonable. He could accept the terms. He trusted Nick's judgment.

He began to slowly nod and as he looked up to Nick he nodded a few more times, "Alright. I get it…"

Satisfied with their little talk, Nick uncurled his arms and let them hang limp at his sides, "Good." He then suddenly realized how exhausted he was and yawned.

This time Ellis smiled, "Tired, Nick?"

Nick smirked, and with little effort, reached out and ruffled Ellis' exposed curls, "Get in bed." He mumbled, though an edge of humor was definitely there.

Ellis chuckled and patted down the hair Nick had displaced.

Briefly, Ellis wondered if he could get Nick to do that more often…

But it was a fleeting thought. As he lifted the blanket to climb under, sleep seemed to be taking over before he could even close his eyes and get comfortable. Nick soon joined him, taking the side that had been _his_ the past couple nights before.

Realizing this just a little too late, Ellis discovered that as soon as he set his head to the pillow, he could very distinctly pick out Nick's scent from the already heavily scented pillow. He froze up just a little, and he then decidedly turned over to face the bathroom door.

On the other side of the bed, Nick settled in, stretching just a bit before he folded his arms under his head over his pillow. Ellis waited until he heard his heavy breathing, which didn't take long at all, then reached over and flipped the flashlight off. He waited another few minutes, just in case.

Then, very slowly, he reached up and grasped his pillow, pulling down enough that the sweet spot was just under his nose, and took a long, deep inhale.

His eyes fluttered and rolled. Nick's scent was intoxicating, and it was odd how a week ago, smelling Nick wouldn't have been any different from smelling Coach or Rochelle.

Now, the scent provoked images of Nick that made his heart rate pick up.

His toes curled as a surge of desire swept through him. But he couldn't, whether he wanted to jerk off or attempt anything else, he'd found out the hard way, he couldn't keep quiet, and having Raven down stairs meant he couldn't sneak down there for anything.

He was screwed, and the longer he smelled Nick's pillow like a… _pervert_, the further he screwed himself.

He sighed, shoving the pillow back under his head. Just what did he think he was doing, anyway. Having feelings for Nick? Where exactly would that get him?

It's not like he could ever actually _be _with Nick… And having these feelings for him was just… _wrong_.

Ellis finally closed his eyes to the dark, a bit sadly. Why couldn't he have picked someone else to be infatuated with instead of the unattainable gambler?

Frustrated, he couldn't help it, and he slowly turned in bed, and faced Nick. To his surprise, Nick had fallen asleep facing Ellis' back, so he could plainly see Nick's sleeping figure in the faint moon light.

He sighed once again, gazing upon him morosely. He was literally within his grasp… it was an almost physical pain that he couldn't have him.

Feeling a bit daring in his sudden sadness, Ellis shifted, lifting himself up. He hovered, just inches away from his face. With the way his head sat propped on his arms, it was lifted in a manner that it tilted in just the right way for Ellis' purposes.

He took in a slow inhale, his pulse quickening dangerously. He wasn't chickening out of this, and if he did this once, maybe he'd get it out of his system…

Or it might just drive him crazy until he could have more…

Either way, he was still doing it. He'd always been a thrill seeker, but he wasn't sure if this counted.

He steadied himself on an elbow, leaning in slowly.

His breaths came out shaky as he began to tremble in just the slightest. He was close enough to Nick's face he could feel the soft air that passed through his nose on his lips.

He swallowed, and closed his eyes, letting the distance between them become none.

Nick's lips were thin, yet they were still soft, something Ellis hadn't been expecting. A shiver ran up his spine, and the desire only intensified. He pulled back just enough to lick his lips and return for more, pressing a little firmer, testing his boundaries with Nick's consciousness.

He'd never felt so excited and relieved and so filled with want all at the same time. He began to pull back, only to press more kisses to Nick's unresponsive lips. He couldn't take it, he needed more.

Without thinking, his left arm slinked around until it set firmly on the other side of Nick's waist, giving him more leverage. He was able to plant more accurately placed kisses to both his top and bottom lip. He wished Nick was awake, wished he'd fully participate. He could only imagine what Nick tasted like on the inside, and the thought alone made his mouth water, and an involuntary moan to rumble through his chest.

Suddenly, Nick twitched, sending a spasm through his body.

Ellis jerked to a complete stop; lips frozen in place on Nick's, eyes going wide.

He was still asleep, thankfully, but Ellis became panicked anyway, realizing just how close he was to getting caught… And just what kind of situation he put himself into.

He pulled away, a bit reluctantly, and settled back in. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, limbs still shaking from the sensations he'd just encountered.

He shook his head slowly, starting to realize how messed up he really was.

He'd just practically molested Nick in his sleep.

But there was no way in hell he couldn't _not_ have Nick now. No, he'd only had a taste.

Now he wanted the whole damn thing.

Very slowly, a smirk pulled the edge of Ellis' lip, and he chuckled softly. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Oh, did I forget to mention that this was also going to be a highly influential update? Well it is :T

Let's call it a late Christmas present for my fans and an early birthday present for myself. :3

**(BLD)**


	12. Chapter 12

I wanna thank all you guys who have been reviewing and favoriting and following :D Without your support, I probably wouldn't have made this a series. :I

**(BLD)**

Nick woke with a cool breeze that drifted through the window that gave him goose bumps. The sun had risen, but there was a fair amount of cloud cover that blocked it. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head, and scratching at his chest. He looked down to the black wife beater and realized how dirty he felt.

He hadn't taken a shower the other night, so the muck from the lake dried on his skin.

He made a face as he lifted the shirt over his head. He heard talk and laughter coming from downstairs, and he smirked a bit. Ellis was undoubtedly doing as he was asked, and getting to know the stranger Raven.

He decided to take a shower, cleaning himself and also giving Ellis more time alone with her. If he stayed out of the way, Ellis could get all the information they would need in the span of a morning.

As he stood, taking off the boxers as well, he yawned again, almost stumbling, but caught his balance on the bathroom door frame, uttering a curse. Having enough light that came through the window, he deiced to leave the door open. They were probably going to have to change the batteries in the flashlights sooner or later. For now, he'd use as much natural light as possible.

Twisting the cold water on, Nick realized he still had the small bandaid on his palm from a couple days ago. He peeled the bandage off and crumbled it before letting it fall into the trashcan beside the toilet.

He scratched at the small wound that had closed up by now, and then ran his hand through the shower spray. He sighed, not at all thrilled for the freezing shower. He hoped the next place they came by had hot water at least.

Downstairs, Ellis and Raven talked about their journeys, though Ellis made sure that Raven's story took the forefront.

"I had to get out of there, these crazy people were gonna kill themselves like that, and I was going down with them. Shit, I was scared to death!" Raven exclaimed, taking another sip of water from her glass.

"The 'policeman', though I use that term loosely, had the key." She was telling Ellis about her hand cuff, something he'd been interested in since he saw it. They sat at the kitchen table that Nick had set back up yesterday, across from each other. Raven had leaned back in her chair, rising the front two legs off the floor as she balanced on the back two.

"Either I get the key from the guy, or, I pull some kind of MacGyver shit." She laughed a bit, shaking her head at the memory. The way she talked, it seemed all this had happened in the far past, but Ellis had learned that it was only a few weeks ago.

"I eventually got a hold of an axe, and I was expecting to do a Titanic and just chop the chain in half or something, but before I can, the policeman that brought me in suddenly comes in, so I have to hide this axe." She explained, demonstrating with her hand how she held the axe behind her back.

"The guy is obviously suspicious and he goes to see what I'm hiding and I know for a fact that if he finds me with this axe, I'm done for!" she explains, her eyes going a bit wide with the intensity of her story telling.

"So, I do the first thing that pops into my head… Which is clock the guy in the head with the axe." She smiled when Ellis winced.

"I didn't use the sharp side, c'mon." she waved a hand at Ellis dismissively, "I used the back. He went down like a tree. But guess what?"

"What?" Ellis answered, though he already knew the answer.

"He didn't have the fucking key." She laughed, running a hand down her face.

Ellis laughed too, though it was more nervously.

"I was so mad, I think I spent like, five minutes just cursing at the guy!" she laughed again, swaying her chair back and forth on the back legs. "I have to go back to plan A, which was chop the chain, which eventually works, but I also got the attention of those freaks in the church. God, I tried my hardest not to get them any angrier than they already were."

Raven's story was amazing and exciting and Ellis could barely believe it…the _first_ time he heard it.

Nick chose this moment to descend the stairs, towel drying his hair as best he could with the towels that had been set out to dry. He'd re-adorned his black wife beater and boxers seeing as how his suit was nowhere upstairs.

Ellis quickly stood from the table, "Mornin Nick!" he greeted, coming over and clasping him on the back.

At first, Nick suspiciously eyed his hands, as if he'd put something on his back. It was such odd behavior; he had a hard time believing it was just a friendly gesture.

Ellis coughed, and Nick noticed it was to gain his attention, so he subtly looked over, then followed Ellis' line of sight.

Raven sat perched in a kitchen chair, sipping from a glass of water and digging through a can of pork and beans with a fork. She wasn't wearing what he'd seen her wear yesterday, and today it was a tank top and more boxer shorts.

Nick wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be seeing, so he glanced back to Ellis for confirmation, but before he could get any Ellis spoke up, "Hey, Raven. Tell Nick the story you were just tellin me. About the hand cuffs?" he suggested, though his tone made Nick worry.

It was like he was nervous, like he was dreading what was going to come next.

"Oh, yea. Sure." She answered. She set the fork in the can and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So, it started when I'm looking for supplies. I'm low on food and in serious need of some water." She began. Nick slowly made his way into the kitchen until he takes a seat at the table, next to Raven. He figured what Raven had to say was important if Ellis acted the way he did.

"I eventually come by this church. I hear some people inside, so I figure I can bargain with them since I have all this ammo." She continued, using her hands as she spoke.

"Go up to the door, knock a couple times, it goes deathly silent… Next thing I know, there are these three huge dudes who rush out with like bats and golf clubs and drag me inside." Nick listened intently, her story thrilling, but showed no emotion. She could be lying through her teeth, though she was doing a good job of not showing it.

Her body language and facial expressions gave nothing away to say she was making every bit of it up.

So why was Ellis acting so strange?

"So then, I take as much as I can from the pantry and bolt. Craziest shit ever." She concluded about five minutes later.

Nick nodded, for now buying it, "Sure sounds like it."

"Ey' Nick, you wanna help me with somethin real quick?" Ellis suddenly asked, already walking towards the stairs. He asked it so abruptly, nothing was hiding the fact that something was up.

Nick stood and followed, quickly ascending the steps.

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" he finally asked once they were alone and out of earshot. He figured Ellis had just learned something pretty bad about Raven, so it was like he was anticipating good news.

Ellis quickly went back to the door and closed it, leaning back on it as he folded his arms.

"We're gonna stay up here for a couple minutes." He told him, not making eye contact, but stared fiercely at the floor.

Nick's brows furrowed, "What's going on…?" he asked slowly.

"Just trust me. We're gonna stay up here for a couple more minutes, and then we're goin back down stairs." He reaffirmed with a resolute nod.

Nick eyed him suspiciously for a few more seconds but then relented, sighing as he took a seat on the mattress and continued to dry his hair.

Downstairs, Raven threw her can in the trash ben, stood, and stretched. After her stretch though, a sharp pain caused her to palm at her forehead. She hissed at it, but soon enough, it went away. For a second, she eyed the kitchen, then went into the living room. She saw that she'd been sleeping on the couch with a blanket and a thin pillow. She felt at the back of her head and confirmed that her head did hurt.

She yawned and went back into the kitchen. There was a glass of water on the table, but being a germ-a-phob and not knowing whose exactly it was, she went through the cupboards and found another glass. She filled it about half way, seeing as how she wasn't as thirsty as she would usually be.

She then went scrounging around through the can pile on the counter. She hoped they had pork and beans. They were her favorite.

But as she started to settle for a can of peas, she realized she wasn't really all that hungry. She shrugged to herself and set the can back down. Just as she was about to wonder if she should go looking for Nick and Ellis, said men came down stairs.

"About time you two got up." She laughed, taking a seat on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table.

Nick suddenly looked between Raven and Ellis.

"Mornin…" he greeted, though it lacked all enthusiasm. He sullenly looked up at Nick then looked back to Raven and asked,"There's somethin that's been buggin me about you since yesterday."

Raven frowned a bit, one brow twitching up, "What would that be?"

"Tell us about that hand cuff. I've been dyin to hear about it." He suggested, his tone flat and lifeless.

Nick's brows furrowed, completely thrown for a loop. Was _this_ what he was talking about?

Raven chuckled a bit, and shrugged. "Yea ok. It's a pretty crazy story, actually."

"I can only imagine." Nick commented, taking a seat on the coffee table to watch her.

"So, it started when I'm looking for supplies. I'm low on food and in serious need of some water." She began, exactly how she began only a few minutes ago.

Nick's jaw dropped. He sat, dumbfounded, and listened to Raven's story as she explained it in almost the exact same way as she did last time. She even made some of the same hand gestures at the same parts in her story, as if she hadn't told him before. It was unbelievable.

When she got to the part when she started looking for a way out of the cuffs, he had to stop her, "Ok, Ok, I've heard enough." He muttered, rubbing a hand in his eyes.

Ellis, who had been standing close by his elbow, sighed. When Raven began first telling her story, Ellis marveled at her resourcefulness and bravery. Now it was just… scary.

It really scared him that she forgot in such a short time that she'd told him the story about four times already. He's heard it when he first woke up and came down stairs, and then again when he started laundry. He tested it by leaving her alone for ten minutes and then came back. Sure enough, when he asked about it again, she retold it in perfect clarity.

He hadn't wanted it to be true, but now that Nick finally woke and came and saw for himself it sort of confirmed that he wasn't crazy.

Raven stared at the both of them, a bit incredulous, but mostly confused. Her posture changed, bringing her feet off the table and scooting to the edge of the couch.

"First of all, Raven…" Nick began, but then paused. He didn't know what to say.

What was he _supposed_ to say? 'You're crazy and dangerous. Get out!' As much as he'd loved to have said that, he knew Ellis would've thrown a fit.

He sighed, letting his hand fall from his face, "You do realize you've told me this story before…?" If he brought it up so blatantly, how would she react? Ellis didn't know and let Nick handle it. He was just as in the dark as Nick was at the moment.

Raven's face fell, and froze in place. Her eyes went wide with realization and she sighed, her head falling back and hitting the couch.

"I had a feeling…" she said quietly, staring up at the ceiling.

"So you _do_ know about your short term memory loss?" Nick stated.

She shook her head, closing her eyes in a squint, "Not exactly…" she sighed again, "Ever since I got out of that church, I've been having this feeling…a lot like déjà vu…"

She sat back up, leaning her elbows onto her knees off the edge of the couch, "I think I fell and hit my head pretty hard… I woke up in an abandoned house and had no idea how I got there." She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the lump that she had thought were just from sleeping with a flimsy pillow. How could she have even forgotten about _that_?

Nick and Ellis absorbed this new information in different ways. Ellis immediately felt deep sympathy for her, not knowing _what_ he'd do if he were in that situation. Nick, on the other hand, saw it as just another reason to get her out of their hair.

"I have good days and bad days. Yesterday was a good day…and I have a feeling today will be a bad day…" she trailed off, closing her eyes and setting her forehead in her palm.

"What happens on bad days, Raven?" Ellis asked gently.

She frowned, not moving to make eye contact, "I forget where I am, forget what I was just doing, get lost, black out…I just have a shitty day…" she concluded, running her hand through her hair.

Nick suddenly looked at her, intensely. If she had bad days that meant they'd be held up somewhere while she rode it out. He couldn't afford to keep making breaks like that… even though he and Ellis had been living in the same house for about five days now…

Now that she had two witnesses to her condition, it seemed to have lifted a weight off her shoulders. She could now confirm that she wasn't just 'not feeling right'. It was solid evidence that it wasn't just her imagination.

But now that it was out and in the open, what was she supposed to do?

"I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow… I just…need to go slow today…" she answered, her mind beginning to muddle, "I'm...slipping…" she muttered, eyes squinting hard as she shook her head, trying to rid it of the fog that was settling in.

Ellis eyed Nick, not sure of what that meant exactly, but had an idea, "Let's let her rest today…" he suggested, though there was really nothing else for them to do.

Nick sighed, watching as Raven began to blink rapidly. She shook her head once again, though it was much more composed now, as if she'd been smacked, and felt the urge to shake it off.

She then looked from Nick to Ellis, first looking very confused, but then a slow smile started spreading across her lips, "Come to bring me breakfast in bed?"

Though Nick had the urge to give her an intense stare and just marvel at the anomaly in front of them, he smirked, "Actually, I came to get the coordinates of that bag of yours, the one you dropped?"

Raven gave an upward nod of her head, understanding, "Oh, well it's around the bridge… But, I mean, I can show you-" "No, you should actually rest. You looked pretty beat up the other day." Nick interrupted her with a hand.

Raven eyed him, eyes slitting just a bit but then nodded, slowly, "Alright then." She lay out across the couch, though a bit reluctantly.

Nick nodded once and stood, "Get ready, Ellis. We're making a trip." Nick muttered, already heading back upstairs.

Ellis watched as Nick went back to the bedroom, probably to find an outfit to wear while his suit was missing in action. A part of him wanted to go up to Nick and ask just what exactly he planned to do about this, and another part of him…

Another part of him had no idea what to do.

What were they going to do with Raven now? Did this even change anything? If it did, what did it change? How would this affect their plan?

All these questions and more swirled in his head as he followed after Nick. He realized that this would've been best decided by Coach. He sighed, telling himself that Nick's decisions would be just as good as the football coach's.

They would have to be.

* * *

"Is, uh…is this supposed to be her bag?" Nick poked the muzzle of Raven's rifle at the torn and battered piece of cloth near the entrance of the bridge. There looked to have been a boomer bile jar in there somewhere and probably got trampled on, therefor, sending a mob of zombies to destroy the army green drawstring bag.

"Aww man…she's gonna be _pissed_." Ellis responded after walking up behind Nick and examining it.

It was just as Raven had described it, green with a military patch on the back. A few articles of clothing poked out of tears and gashes all along the sides, stained green with bile.

"So…should we take it to her anyway…? Maybe wash her clothes?" Nick, oddly enough, asked the question. It might have been because he felt sorry for the girl and was trying to make up for it. His first instinct was to turn right back around and tell her they couldn't find it, but now… Maybe they could at least _try_ and save it.

Ellis shrugged, though Nick didn't see the gesture, "I mean, I guess? There's no harm in it, right?"

Nick shrugged, "I guess…"

Ellis' eyebrow arched, "So…I'm gonna go ahead and…say…_not it!_" Ellis took a quick step back, unwilling to put his hands on the bile covered bag. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been sitting out in the sun for so long, making it stink even worse.

Nick rolled his eyes and groaned, "God, you're such a child." He mumbled, using the muzzle to lift the bag by one of the handles.

As if he wasn't about to do the same thing.

Ellis chuckled, now making his way further into the bridge, to parts of the bridge they hadn't bothered to travel to before. There was a section of asphalt that sat right on the edge that fell into the water, but it blocked their view of most of the wreckage left behind by the military. It was better off that way, Ellis probably wouldn't be able to handle another reminder.

The control room had been converted into a safe room, something they hadn't known before, and as Ellis walked through the door, a groan to his left signaled him to raise his hunting rifle.

A single infected stumbled around in the corner of the room, and Ellis made quick work of it, barely batting an eye. His attention was then drawn to the table, where it looked to be some guns lying about.

Nick soon came in after him, setting the bag down in the middle of the floor till they were ready to leave. There wasn't much to the small room, and this came to a surprise to him. There would usually be more supplies. Then his eyes landed on a red ladder, leading to a square hole in the ceiling. "I'm gonna see where this ladder leads." Nick informed, already making for it.

Ellis nodded, "Alrighty." And went to look through what had been laid out on the tables.

Quickly climbing the ladder, Nick ascended into the second part of the control room. As he cleared the last step, he took a look around. This room was significantly smaller, but did indeed hold more supplies. He chuckled a bit, eyeing a Molotov, and two bile jars sitting on one table and then eyed the other one that held med kits upon med kits along with a pile of ammo.

Though, on further inspection, all that looked to be left were shot gun shells.

Nick sighed, having wished to find at least some magnum rounds.

"Beggars can't be choosers…" Nick mumbled, stashing the bile jars in his bag along with the rest of the ammo and all the med kits he could fit, which was only three.

He wondered if Raven had any med supplies in her bag, though he doubted it. She probably used it all up on the wound on her leg.

He then wondered if he remembered seeing her bandages changed or not.

Either way, they'd be changed regardless.

He was going to send her off with every advantage. Med kits, ammo, food and water…

If he gave her all they could offer, kicking her back out into the infection wouldn't make him feel so guilty.

Because that's what he's eventually going to do, kick her back out. He'd put serious thought into it all the way to the bridge, thinking about all the possibilities, but no matter what, Raven's memory loss still put them to a dangerous disadvantage. With her, they'd have to take whole _days_ to rest, just so she could get back to normal. God forbid they'd have to leave while Raven had her bad day. She'd get lost or left behind in a heartbeat.

He knew Ellis would put up a fight, but if he threw the facts and logic at him, he'd probably feel stupid if he disagreed. It was a sleazy tactic, but he couldn't afford having Raven traveling with them and all her disabilities. He was keeping them all safe by making this decision.

Though, really, the only disability she had was her memory.

Deep down, he accepted the fact that he just really didn't like her and that his disliking added to his reasoning to get her out of their way. But Ellis didn't have to know that.

The sound of heavy boots thudding and the clink of metal on metal brought Nick out of his thoughts.

"You find somethin?" Ellis half shouted as he climbed the ladder.

Nick glanced back around, making sure he hadn't missed anything. The only thing he'd left were the two med kits he couldn't fit in his bag, and the Molotov. Nick didn't really like Molotov's. They were messy and hard to keep upright all the time.

"Just a Molotov, bile jars and a few med kits. Nothing much." Ellis finally breached the threshold and climbed to his feet, wielding an AK-47 to his back. "What'd you find, Sport?" Nick asked, smirking despite himself.

Ellis chuckled, swinging the gun around himself to show off, "Oh, just this lil'ol thing right here." He pet the nozzle affectionately.

"The other guns didn't have any ammo in'em, and the one shot gun was broken." Ellis shrugged, slinging it back around. "I didn't have a lot in my huntin rifle, so I might as well swap, right?" he chuckled a little, taking in the small room.

"Good choice." Nick commented. He was about to heave his bag back over his shoulders when Ellis suddenly coughed.

"So, uh…about Raven…" Ellis began. Nick could tell it'd taken a lot for him to even bring it up, probably too afraid to hear Nick's answer.

Nick sighed, dropping the bag to the ground and leaning against the table with his arms crossed over his chest, gripping at his biceps. He guessed this was the time for that conversation.

"What about her?" Nick began, trying to sound as non-confrontational as possible.

Ellis looked up from his stare at the ground, "What's your plan, Nick?" he asked, he too leaned against the wall.

So he wasn't entirely oblivious to the fact that Nick was coming up with something. That was good.

Nick scratched at the back of his head for a moment, stalling, "First, Ellis…I want us to look at our _own_ situation right now. Excluding her." Nick began.

He unfolded his arms and set them out behind him while he talked, "We barely have any ammo, and if you hadn't have just found that gun, you'd have been stuck with your bat. I don't have _any _ammo for my magnum anymore. It's practically useless." He set the magnum in his holster out on the table.

"And I've been counting the cans we've got left, Ellis. Eight. We've got eight cans of food left." He held up eight fingers for emphasis, letting the number sink in. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that it's about to be the swamps all over again."

In the time they'd spent in the swamps, food had been scarce. They'd resorted to only eating two cans a day, between the four of them. Nick had always shared with Ellis, because he hated what Coach always choose, which was either beans or pears.

"C'mon, Nick, we can find more food around here." Ellis interrupted. If people were being evacuated quickly, they'd more than likely left behind most everything they owned, including their canned goods.

Nick frowned at him, "I'm trying to make a point."

Ellis fell silent, his arms crossing over his chest loosely.

Nick sighed, running a hand down his face, "Anyway," he began again, "What I'm trying to say is we've got a lot of shit we've got to get done. And that's _before_ we hop on over to the military base."

Ellis frowned at the ground, not liking the fact that Nick was talking to him like he were stupid.

"I want you to remember that we've been in worse situations, a _lot_ worse. We've been able to pull through them though, right?" Nick drummed his fingers against the table a few times, just subtly.

When Ellis realized Nick wasn't going to go on without a response, he sighed heavily and slowly nodded, "Right."

"You know how fast paced we can be, Ellis. Some days all we did was _walk_ through a safe house. I have a strong feeling Raven won't be up to par with all of this." Nick finally stated, bringing out his main point. "If we had to leave one day, right on the spot, just drop everything and run…just imagine for me the scenario, if Raven were having one of her…_'bad days_'."

Ellis sighed, Nick was right. That would be dangerous for all of them. In fact, Ellis didn't want to even think about it.

"And besides, Ellis. Look at her. Does it look like she had much of a problem taking down that _Tank_? If you ask me, she's pretty much got this whole thing figured out. I mean, we might just be getting in her way." Nick stated, waving a hand about in a gesture.

Before Ellis could bring up a few points of argument that _he_ had, Nick quickly spoke up again, "And another thing…" though this time, he sounded a bit angry, almost like he'd just remembered something that upset him, "I don't think I even remember agreeing that she should tag along in the first place."

Ellis sighed again, dramatically. He knew Nick was going to bring that up.

"Can I say somethin now?" Ellis interjected, quickly glancing up at Nick with an annoyed scowl, feeling completely left out of the situation.

Nick waved a hand out in front of himself, "Be my guest."

"First of all, how would _you_ like it if somebody was makin these same decisions about _you_ behind your back?" Ellis spoke accusingly, poking a finger in Nick's direction.

Nick groaned, "That's _hardly_-" "I ain't done!"

"Second, you know good and God damn well that Raven can hold her own! We could use her help, Nick. Don't you dare say that 'we got this', cause we don't! We almost got _killed_ the other day! I don't know about you, but that nearly scared me to death!" Ellis hadn't realized he was yelling until his voice echoed off the walls around them.

He cleared his throat for a moment, bring his tone back down. Nick stared at him, expectantly.

"What I'm sayin is if she can help us over at the military base, we don't have to worry about guns and ammo no more." "That's _if_ there's even anything over there." "Shut up…"

Ellis groaned, running both his hands through his hair. He knew if he couldn't convince Nick about this, there'd be no stopping him.

"Just think about it. I'm askin you to wait and just think about it, man." He then sighed, turned, and climbed back down the ladder.

And Nick did. For three seconds.

Ellis was right, they could use her help when they got over to the military base. Even though he'd buried the thought in his mind, it came back in full force. What if they couldn't handle what they'd find over there?

Even though he'd convinced Ellis they could handle such situations, because they'd been through them before, he neglected to factor in that that was with all four of them. Raven could probably make up for _two _people with her apparent abilities.

It was decided. He'd kick her out of the club _after_ they raided the base.

Once he knew Ellis had reached the bottom though, Nick picked his Magnum back off the table and set it back in his holster. As much as his own words were true, he couldn't bring himself to part with it.

Ellis nearly growled as he left from the control room. Why did Nick have to be so…_Nick_? He knew he could've made that go better if he'd been more forceful with him, but he didn't want to risk getting on Nick's bad side.

A few infected stumbled from behind the concrete barrier and shambled towards him. In a second, Ellis had whipped around his gun and shot each to the ground.

He was sure he also could've clocked him in the mouth and make him realize how unreasonable he was being.

"You're lucky I like you." Ellis mumbled to himself, paying no attention to the infected that still gurgled and clawed at his ankles as he lurked around the concrete barrier in search of more infected.

* * *

I was gonna write another chapter before it was revealed about Raven's short term memory loss, but I seriously just wanna get on with the plot :I I hope you guys understand, it's been taking me a while to get more chapters out for one reason or the other, so putting out a chapter that wouldn't do any good to move the story further and then make you guys wait more for something that _will_ would be unfair. And after a couple paragraphs of the other thing I was writing, I realized none of you would actually care about that… So, I trashed it and started over.

Just know that you weren't missing much and I did it because I love you.

**(BLD)**


	13. Chapter 13

The boat had stayed put, though it had drifted a couple feet from the port, Ellis could always leap the distance. There had been a few infected lingering by the dock, but Ellis took care of them not long after they were spotted.

After their check up on the boat, Nick suggested they run some errands while they had the chance.

"Let's try this one…" Ellis suggested, already stepping up to the two story home painted a sky blue. Nick followed quickly behind, keeping an eye on their surroundings. He'd been the watch dog while Ellis took the lead. He figured that would be their system for travel now.

Ellis tried the door, which of course was locked, and then swung as AK around to use the butt of the gun to break in through one of the side windows.

It shattered into pieces on both sides of the window, and Ellis broke all the remaining glass from the pane to avoid unnecessary injury. He slung the gun back to his back and lifted his leg and stepped inside.

Nick kept to the porch just a second longer to make sure their break in hadn't aroused any attention. With one final survey, Nick turned and stepped through the window as well.

Ellis had broken in to the living room, right beside the recliner. He stepped around it as he made his way further into the home, making his approach silent with a well-practiced maneuver.

He slid to the door frame that lead to the hall way, keeping his ears sharp as he listened for any movement other than Nick's struggle to get through the window.

"Report." Nick called softly, gathering himself inside the living room. Ellis moved down the empty hall, sending his back against the wall as he stared up the stairwell. "Nothin yet." He responded soon after. He took to the hallway, heading through the kitchen, dining room, and downstairs bathroom.

"Clear down here." He then called back.

Nick took the signal and crept upstairs, keeping just as silent as Ellis had. There were only two rooms upstairs that he could open. "We've got two empty rooms, and one that won't budge." He called down the stairs.

Ellis heard from in the kitchen, "Okay!" he yelled, now that the house was confirmed to be empty.

He had found a cloth bag that he was now stuffing with cans and wrapped health bars. He even found a box of unopened wheat thins.

Before stuffing them along in the bag though, he tore them open and ate a handful. As he rolled it up and secured it in the bag, he heard Nick coming back down stairs.

"Have a count?" he asked, squatting down like Ellis had down by the cupboards.

"We got about twenty so far, proba'lly another dozen down in there." He mentioned, reaching for a second cloth bag he'd found in a stash.

"Good. Won't have to worry about that anymore." He muttered and slowly stood. Though he no longer felt the need to be stingy with their food, it hardly doused the fire of his need to get Raven out.

Somehow, Ellis sensed this.

"So now you can at least stop bein somewhat of a prick, right?" though he had said it under his breath, and though he was sure Nick had wandered far enough, the older man still twirled around on a heel.

"What was that?" He asked, face turning into a suspicious glare, fists placed on his hips.

Ellis cursed internally, but slowly looked up to Nick, "I said now you can stop bein such a prick, right?" he repeated, now more of a yell.

Nick huffed, but before he could come back with something, which he was just itching to do, Ellis piped back up with a different topic, though his tone had taken a more reasonable edge. Ellis realized starting a fight with Nick wouldn't play out in anyone's favor.

"We got more food for the three of us, at least it ain't four. You seem to be forgettin that a lot."

All the fight left Nick then, his fists slowly falling from his hips as he sighed. Whether it was the look Ellis had made, or the way he spoke about their MIA teammates, Nick couldn't bring himself to bitch about his comment.

Nick ran his hand down his face, just absorbing Ellis' anger. "Let's hurry it up." Was all he said before he left the kitchen and wandered to another part of the house, preferably far away from Ellis.

He sat in a chair in the living room, silently brooding. He didn't like this. Ellis was practically turning against him in favor of this girl they'd met a _day ago_. Though really, wasn't that how most his friendships ended? Fighting over a girl?

Nick snorted, slipping further into the chair.

Oh, the irony.

* * *

Nick and Ellis made it back to the fort sometime around mid-afternoon. Uncovering the door was becoming more of a great idea every time they got to use it.

They slipped inside, wordlessly, and shut the door behind them. For a second, the two boys searched about the room, looking for Raven, seeing as how she was no longer on the couch, and then they heard water sloshing and clothes rustling.

"You in the laundry room, Raven?" Ellis called out.

"Yea. I got the note by the way." She called back.

Nick had written a small note and left it on the kitchen table, just in case she began to wander around the house and forgot they'd gone to get her bag. Nick then went to the kitchen, found the note and tore it to small pieces before throwing it in the trash.

He came back out, dodged around Ellis who was setting his weapon along the coffee table and carefully carried Raven's green bag, balanced on the tip of his gun, to the laundry room.

"Good news and bad news, Cupcake." He started with, stopping just at the laundry room door frame to poke the gun into the room.

Raven stopped her motions of rubbing blood stains out of her green long sleeve button up shirt and glanced over. When she did, her face went from slight curiosity to immediate horror.

"Holy shit! What happened to it!?" she pulled her hands out of the laundry room sink and whipped them off on a nearby rag.

"Were you carrying a bile jar in here?" Nick calmly questioned as he regarding the stained bag himself.

Raven grumbled, palming her forehead for a moment before dragging the hand through her hair, "Yea." She sighed, realizing what that meant, "_Shit_." She swiftly turned and kicked the dryer as she emphasized the word.

Nick then set the bag on the ground, "I didn't know if you'd still want it or not, but we brought it anyway." He informed her, turning away to leave, "Thanks… I guess." Raven called back, audibly messing with her back.

For some reason, that gave Nick pause. She hadn't thanked them at all, until just then. Hadn't even thanked them for the food she was eating. That began to bug Nick, for whatever reason.

He came back into the living room and glanced over to confirm that Ellis was in the kitchen. He was setting out the food they'd gotten on their trip.

Nick sighed, taking a seat on the couch.

When Ellis had finished, he went for the health bars and grabbed up two, then made his way into the laundry room, "Here." He handed off one of the bars to Raven, who was crouched on the ground, using leather gloved hands to pick through her bag.

She glanced up, a look of despair and annoyance on her face, "Just set it up there." She told him, going back to her bag.

She had pulled out a metal tin. It was opened and looked to be holding pictures. Ellis head turned a bit to look down at them, "Is them pictures, Raven?" he asked, crouching along beside her and picking up the slightly dented tin.

Raven nodded, "Yea. Just some friends and family." She confirmed, pulling a flashlight from the bag, covered in slime and broken bits of jar.

Since Raven hadn't asked him to leave it alone, he assumed it would be alright to look through them. He then took a seat, folding his legs Indian style and pulled out the first picture he saw.

It was an older looking man, around his mid-forties, and it was obvious that he was of relation to Raven. He had black hair, just as her, and grew a beard that had some length to it. It looked well-kept and showed a few hints of grays. His eyes were bright and shined in the picture, just as his big smile did. He held a mug in one hand and seemed to be making a 'cheers' motion. The setting looked to be some bar.

"Who's this?" he asked, flipping the picture to let Raven see.

Raven barely glanced up before going right back to her bag, "My dad." She answered simply.

Ellis nodded and set the picture off to the side. He reached in and selected another one, but as he pulled it out, he had to do a double take.

"Raven! Is this your…_twin_?!"

In the picture was Raven, obvious by her piercings and short hair. But standing right next to her, with an arm slung over Raven's shoulders was a girl of the same height and facial features as Raven. She had long black hair that she pulled back in a high pony tail. She wore something resembling a skeleton suit. A skeleton mask hung over the side of her neck. Raven was wearing a black leather mask and a white dress shirt underneath. She also wore a cape and seemed to be wearing vampire teeth.

Raven chuckled a bit, "Yea. Guess what her name is…" Raven glanced over then, silently gazing at the picture with a far off look in her eye.

Ellis was still trying to process the fact that Raven had a twin sister, much less come up with a name for her. He still stared down at the Raven clone as she answered, "Ebony."

"Ebony…" Ellis repeated slowly. Unfortunately, Ellis didn't need to ask to know what probably happened to her.

She smiled just like Raven did, sort of a smirk, an amused pull to her lips.

"M'sorry…" Ellis said quietly, rubbing a thumb down the side of the picture.

Raven chuckled, much to Ellis' shock.

"For what?" she asked, poking through broken glass to get to something.

Ellis looked up, a little confused, "For yer loss…"

Raven nodded, plucking out a sludge covered shirt. She set it aside, "That's right, she's dead. But not from the infection." She stated.

"Oh." Was all Ellis could say. At least she hadn't suffered like many other people already have.

Raven sighed, "In 2007, we were eating at this new Asian restaurant. Place was pretty awesome, koi fish pond and everything." She started a story that would end in death.

"The parking lot was packed, so we parked further down the road. Not a good idea…" Raven trailed off at the end, her hands starting to slow in their search through her bag.

"When we left, it was around midnight. Dark as hell. We could barely see where we were walking. We finally get to the car, but when we do, there's this guy…"

Her hands stop completely, now focused on telling her story, and stared intensely at a spot on the ground.

"He's trying to break into the car. My first instinct, of course is to yell at the guy, while Ebbs is dialing 911." She shook her head slowly.

"Apparently the guy had a gun… He turns around and aims for the person closest to him…"

Ellis made a face of sympathy, about ready to apologize all over again, "Which was me…"

Ellis was taken aback.

"What?" he asked quietly.

Raven sat up a bit and pulled the tank top she wore up just a bit and revealed a bullet wound on her abdomen.

"At first, I hardly reacted. Didn't even realize I was shot until another shot was fired." She pulled her shirt back down.

"All I heard after that was Ebony…screaming." She went silent. For a minute, Ellis wondered if her mind had slipped again, but then her eyes squinted. She looked about ready to cry.

Ellis edged closer, getting on his knees to crawl over, and set a hand on her back.

"I wake up the next day in the hospital." She closes her eyes, and set the heel of her palm to her forehead, slowly. She shook her head a moment before continuing, "The second shot had went through Ebony's chest… she bled out in the road." Her voice had started to tremble, and Ellis began rubbing small circles on her back.

She sighed heavily, and inhaled deeply, pulling her hand from her eyes a second later, blinking quickly. Her eyes were slightly red tinted, but she held firm in not crying.

"I was the older sister by a few minutes, but I always acted like I was older by years…" she said vaguely, looking to Ellis with a sad smile. She then glanced back down at the picture, and tugging one of the slime covered gloves off, she captured the picture between her pointer and middle finger, bringing it to herself to inspect more closely.

"This is the last picture I took with her… a Halloween pageant." She informed him.

Before Ellis could make comment, she set it back in the tin, gingerly.

"There are some better pictures in there to look at." She nodded once and then went right back to rifling through her bag.

Ellis took his hand back and just smiled. She obviously had her own way of coping with it, and he wasn't going to intrude on that.

Instead, he did as he was told, and went through more of the pictures. A good bit were pictures of her and her sister. One of his favorites was a picture of the both of them posing on a bench with a statue. Raven had given the statue man rabbit ears and Ebony leaned over his lap to mock giving him a kiss on the cheek. Half their expressions were hidden by shades, but the mischievous grin was still visible.

There was another picture of just Ebony and their father, wearing green clothes and covered in festive green beads, presumably celebrating St. Patrick's day. The next picture right underneath it made Ellis laugh aloud.

Raven glanced over for a second to see which picture he was laughing about and chuckled too.

In the next one, Raven wore giant plastic glasses in the shape of shamrocks, but the real kicker was the small person dressed as a leprechaun on her shoulders. The both looked to be having a blast, huge smiles on both their faces.

"Funny thing is, the guy was so drunk, he fell off right after that picture was taken." Raven added on.

Ellis chuckled, "Oh man, that looked like you had fun." He commented. There were actually a few pictures from St. Patrick's day, ones with more goofy poses and even a few of the decorations in the town they were at.

There was one face though, that he'd seen in almost all the pictures. It was a boy about Raven's age with light blond hair and bright blue eyes, and seemed to be the athletic type. If Ellis were to guess, he'd say basketball. He double checked, and sure enough, the boy was in all of them, if not posing with Raven, he was somewhere in the background.

He finally brought one out for Raven to see, "Who's this guy?" he asked.

Raven glanced over, "Oh, that's Trent, he's a real good friend of mine."

Ellis nodded and set the St. Patrick's pictures to the side. He noticed the edges were a little worn, as if someone had been looking through them for a long time. Ellis suddenly realized that Raven had probably looked through a thousand times. The thought depressed him a little.

He then pulled out a set that looked to be newer than the others. The first picture on the stack is a picture of someone's back, with an elaborate tattoo depicting a woman's face and the face of what looked to be Raven's father.

"Who's tattoo?" Ellis asked, not even showing her the picture.

When she chuckled, he looked up to see her turning and lifting the back of her shirt.

On her back was the tattoo in the picture, and Ellis realized it was Raven's back in the picture. Though what was different now was that there was an image of Ebony as well a little lower than the first tattoo.

"I'll always have them watching my back." She told him, smiling over her shoulder at Ellis.

Ellis smiled too, "So is that your momma?" he asked next, glancing at the woman in the tattoo. She looked to have the same smile as Raven and Ebony, though her hair seemed to be farer.

"Yea. She died when I was 14. Brain cancer." She answered quickly. It seemed she was trying to avoid the subject, her body language closing up as she turned away.

Ellis frowned. It seemed tragedy struck Raven's life pretty bad. It seems she's been able to pull through it all though, even now. Though she didn't seem like the optimistic type, she still held a strong confidence in herself, as if the world really weren't falling down around her.

She had gone through the apocalypse _by herself_.

Ellis was damn sure he couldn't have done that. She was probably braver than he'd ever be in his entire life.

He decided to leave the subject alone and went through more pictures. After a couple more scenes of her father and sister, he found one that involved all of them. It was a family portrait, featuring two young girls with long dark hair wearing the same exact dark blue dress and a mother and father who looked very proud.

It was the most worn out picture in the tin.


	14. Chapter 14

Look who finally decided to update.

Sorry it took this long to update, this one chapter has just been overly difficult for me to finish. :l

**(BLD)**

As Ellis started to put away Raven's pictures, he realized a few things. First, that it didn't take very long to break through this shell of mystery that had surrounded Raven. It was alleviating feeling to finally know the girl who'd been a breaths away from them.

But the next thing he realized was something that came to him very abruptly, and suddenly. And he didn't like it.

His brows set stern on his forehead and he began to think. As he ruminated just exactly what this meant, he went back for Raven's tin, taking out a few pictures.

Soon after this realization, he calmly set her tin down, and stood, giving Raven a nod as he left out the laundry room and came into the living room where he sat down next to Nick on the couch. He held the pictures he brought with him in one hand, feeling they would help him broach his concerns.

There was a long moment of silence, a silence that not even the infected pierced.

Nick had propped his elbow on the arm rest and set his chin in his palm. With a subtle glance, Nick saw the pictures. "What'cha got there, Sport?" he asked, switching his head around in just the slightest.

Ellis shrugged, flipping through them a couple times, not really looking at them, but thinking. "Raven has a bunch'a these in a tin. She's got all sorts'a pictures, too." Ellis told Nick, flipping to a picture of Raven and Ebony for him to see.

"She had a twin sister named Ebony," he spoke, then flipped to another picture, one of Raven's tattoos, "And her mother died of brain cancer, and she's got'em both on her back in a tattoo." He stated, matter of factly.

Nick looked a little intrigued by the facts, but not enough to make comment.

Ellis then turned to Nick, sliding his leg onto the couch to face him completely. "You know I got a brother and sister, Ethan and Jamie. You know my daddy died in a boat accident, and that's why my ma ain't never been on one since."

Nick wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but he knew something was about to go down, so he very slowly set his arm back down beside him and gave Ellis his full attention, though a suspicious curl of his brow was still present. What point was the kid trying to get to?

"I found all that out about Raven just now. You knew all that stuff about me a couple days after we met." Ellis then set the pictures down on the coffee table, and hunched over himself to lean in closer toward Nick.

"Now, what I don't get… is how can you not trust her when I've learned all about her in one day… and _you_ haven't told me _anythin_ about _yourself_ in all the months we've been together…?"

So that was it. The day finally came.

Ellis stared at him, accusingly, not backing down from his statement, even as Nick glared at him with a certain heat.

"First of all, Ellis, who said I didn't trust her anymore? If she wanted to loot us, she would've done it already." He began, readying himself for this.

"Second, where the fuck is this coming from? What the fuck has gotten you so worked up about it? It's not like this has been a problem before…"

Ellis' eyes slited, "I'm just sayin… I don't think you've got room to talk about trustin people when I don't even know your last _god damn_ name." Ellis retorted, his hands fisting a bit as he spoke the last part through clenched teeth.

Why was he so angry about this? He himself had been the one to tell the others to back off when they started nit-picking at Nick about his personal life. Back then, he didn't want to give Nick a reason to dislike any of them and then break off from the group. There would be a little crinkle to his eye, and a slight down turn to the corners of his lips whenever someone would so much as direct a question at him.

Ellis just felt like, after what they'd been through together, he should at least know a couple of things about the man. And with their current situation, their first true test of Nick's ability to lead them, it just seemed almost right to bring it up now.

Then again, Ellis was sort of looking for more reasons to hate Nick right now, so it'd work anyway. He had idolized him too much. All his flaws and set backs were coming into clarity.

"You wanna know why you know _jack shit_ about me?" he started to lean sideways, bringing him close to Ellis' face, so he didn't have to yell, or be loud. No, his proximity spoke loud enough. He whispered, as not to raise suspicion from Raven.

"Because it never fucking came up." He seethed.

Ellis didn't even flinch. And somehow that made Nick angrier than the sudden distrust.

"I've risked my life more times than I can fucking count, and you're mad that I haven't given you my last name? What the fuck kind of logic is _that_, Ellis?! I'm sorry I never got to read you my God damn diary, but more pressing matters were at hand, like, oh-I don't know…Surviving?!"

With an irritated growl, he stood, and stormed off, heading upstairs to count something, or clean a gun. _Something_.

He needed to calm down before he did something rash. Last time that happened, they got left behind.

Ellis stayed seated on the couch, not sure what Nick's reaction meant. He didn't mention much about Raven just then, but he was sure Nick had just said he'd stopped not trusting her. But he knew he'd probably be sharing the living room with Raven. He sighed, slouching in his defensive posture and stared at the spot Nick had been sitting in.

He could've approached that a little differently, but upon realizing he knew little to nothing about Nick and he'd basically heard Raven's whole life story, it just got him so angry. He felt like he needed to do something about it, and show Nick that he didn't appreciate his hypocritical behavior.

He took his hat off and slid his fingers through his hair, sitting back in the couch.

Unfortunately, Raven had heard every single word. Their voices had slowly begun to rise along with their tempers, and a wooden door could only muffle so much. She sighed, setting her dirty clothes back into the sink. Her hands were going to smell like bleach for a while, but that was better than mud and blood. She wiped her hands on a clean cloth and stepped out into the living room.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize my presence was such a burden on you guys."

Ellis head whipped around, "Wha-What? No! We were…jus-" Ellis tried coming up with an explanation, shifting frantically off the couch to stand, "No, no. Stop." Raven put up a hand and nodded to the floor.

"You guys have been doing this longer than I have, and I can tell you've got some sort of system going on. And I'm clearly trampling all over it." She stated, a bit flatly, though a small smile grazed her lips.

Ellis sighed, hating that Raven had to hear all of that. She didn't deserve to be talked about in that way. She was just another survivor, like the both of them. If Nick could just stop being an ass for a moment, he might be able to see that.

"No, Raven. _I'm_ sorry." He spoke abashedly, sinking his hands into his coverall pockets. "I shoulda told you about what me'n Nick've been discussin…"

Raven sighed, making her way into the kitchen and opening one of the top cabinets. When Ellis finally looked up to see what she was scrounging around for, his brows raised. He knew about the alcohol in the cabinets, but he hadn't wanted to say anything, too afraid Nick might overdo it, like he did last time the found alcohol. Nick had gotten severely drunk, and in the morning, Rochelle wouldn't so much as _look_ at Nick. He had a bad feeling he knew why. But it surprised him Raven had found the vodka.

"…How old are you, anyway?" Ellis asked, not voicing whether he was opposed to drinking, but came into the kitchen.

Raven laughed, hard, "Not old enough." She commented, grabbing shot glasses that had a special place above the stove.

Ellis cracked a grin and leaned against the counter. "You drink a lot?"

Raven snorted, "Whenever my dad was in a good mood." She then poured the plastic bottle of straight vodka evenly into two shot glasses.

"And whenever I've had a bad day." She alluded, setting the alcohol down and handing off one of the glasses.

Ellis eyed the shot glass for a moment before taking it up and knocking it back. His face scrunched only slightly to the alcohol.

Raven grinned mischievously to Ellis before quickly knocking back her shot, face scrunching drastically before she swallowed. She then let out a sigh, frowning slightly from the strong taste.

Ellis chuckled, rubbing one of his hands over his face. "Girl, I swear, you are some kinda crazy."

After a moment, Raven chuckled too, though it was through a tight throat. "I just figured you could use it." She told him, setting the shot glass back down.

There was a moment where Ellis smiled down to the ground, silently appreciating Raven's attentiveness. "Yea. Got that right."

It didn't take long for the two to start taking more shots, and soon after, a conversation ensued.

"His number one concern is if you have a bad day at the worst possible time, ya'know? But what _I'm _sayin is that you made it this far without that much hassle, right?" Ellis spoke, leaning heavily onto the counter as he pointed to Raven with his empty shot glass held loosely in his fingers.

Raven nodded, "Yea, it's not actually as bad as it sounds. I can still tell if I'm in hot water and I still know how to defend myself. It's not like I'm completely useless like that." She answered, pouring another shot.

Ellis didn't know what had started their topic of spilling all Nick's thoughts on Raven, but it just happened. Though he knew he was breaking some sort of trust between the gambler, he didn't find himself caring.

"And I kinda have a feelin he's jealous or sumthin…" he told her, squinting his eyes at a spot on the counter as he spoke. There was definitely something there that felt a lot like jealousy.

Raven nodded, swirling her shot a bit, "That sounds about right."

Ellis' brow quirked, "Really?"

"Well, yea." Raven began, taking her shot finally and leaned back on the counter as her elbows rested on it, "See, you guys have probably been doing this whole thing for a while, and then I come in the picture and start ruining it. Of course he's gonna be jealous when you start taking my side on things."

Ellis frowned, "Oh." He hadn't quite thought of it that way. He guessed it was true, though he didn't know why he'd feel so jealous.

"But, it's not like…" But Ellis faltered, not sure what he wanted to say, or how to say it.

Raven filled in the gap though, with an added statement, "And then there's the part where he might think you like me or something." She suggested, shrugging her shoulders offhandedly.

Ellis chuckled, "Why would he be jealous if I liked you?" The thought itself was entertaining, a brief image of a grumbling Nick flashing through his mind.

Raven suddenly looked to Ellis with a skeptical face.

"…What?" Ellis asked, a little confused by her suddenness.

"Are you guys not…" her eyebrow rose suggestively and it took Ellis just a moment to get what she meant.

"Oh my God! We're not- OH MY GOD…." Ellis went bright red, standing up straight, though the motion was a little slurred with the number of shots he'd taken.

"It's not like that at all. I have no idea where you're gettin this from, I mean, yea, we're kinda close, but like I was sayin before, I hardly know'em, so you can't say we could ever… have a relationship…." Ellis had covered his mouth for some reason, his own words coming out in a waterfall.

Raven had merely watched Ellis' miniature break, her eyes going half lidded as a brow sat high on her forehead. This was an interesting development.

Ellis ran a hand through his hair, sighing audibly as his other hand sat on the counter. Something had told him drinking would be a bad idea. It was too late now, he'd done and said it. He just hoped Raven wouldn't have-

"So, what I gather is that you have a thing for him, but because you don't know that much about him, you don't know how he'll react if you just tell him…?" Though it had hardly been implied as a question, it was still lingering in the air, waiting for an answer.

Despite his upbringing and how horribly his grandmother had spoken about homosexuals, he found himself feel a tad bit more comfortable with his sexuality with Raven's apparent acceptance.

But then again, she had thought they were in a relationship earlier, and she hadn't been acting funny towards him, so he didn't know why he'd been so afraid just then. "Yea, I guess you could say that. And actually, I only started likin'em in that way here recently… like a couple days ago." He answered with a chuckle at the end.

"Hell, I wasn't even into men until I met Nick." He chuckled again, a light blush spreading over his nose as he spoke more and more about it. It felt so weird to finally talk about it with someone.

Raven smirked, "Don't tell him that, or his ego will go through the roof."

Ellis laughed heartily at that, knowing that's exactly what would happen.

Nick sighed, finding the book he was trying to read to be immensely boring. He didn't often read, but found it relaxing when he came home still sober and wasn't in the mood to conk out early. Too bad the book was so bland, it reeked of mediocre.

He'd been unable to sleep for a couple hours, and finding the book on the dresser was his only hope at lulling himself.

At some point in time, he'd begun to hear Raven and Ellis, laughing it up about who knew what. Seriously, what could've been so funny for them to laugh for five minutes straight?

He sighed, tossing the book haphazardly, and turned off the flashlight he'd been using. For a moment he stared at the device in his hands, and then clicked it on and off a few times. This was ridiculous. He shouldn't be stuck up in the room, unable to sleep, when those two were down there, becoming all the more acquainted.

For a brief moment, Nick thought about the possibility of what might happen between the two…

He groaned to himself, closing his eyes as he rubbed his fingers into them. Why was he always thinking that?

He knew the Kid had a thing for him, he made it quite obvious the other night, but he was sure he didn't feel that way about the girl.

Or at least he thought he didn't.

Nick suddenly stood from the bed, not sure what he was going to do, but he just had to get his mind off the subject that was quickly becoming infuriating. Maybe he'd take another shower, just to get his mind off it.

But before he could get half way across the room, he heard stumbling footsteps come creeping up the steps.

Ellis laughed a bit obnoxiously, babbling about something a bit incoherently and then laughed again.

"Calm down," Raven laughed, "I got'cha…" then laughed aloud, it ending in short giggles.

Nick came up to the door, suspiciously, and a bit angrily, opened it. "What the fuck…?"

Raven saw Nick and belted out a hysteric laugh, "Come get him." She pleaded as she tried holding Ellis up but him being slightly taller and heavier, it was a big challenge, especially trying to come up the stairs.

"What the hells' wrong with'em?" Nick questioned, a bit of gruffness to his tone.

"Heeey buddy!" Ellis called out, swinging one of his arms out, in a welcoming gesture. His eyes sat half lidded, and a lopsided grin pulled his mouth to one side, exposing just a few teeth.

Raven laughed, "He's plastered is what."

Nick was about to groan, possibly throw his hands in the air, but then his brows furrowed, "Wait. There's alcohol?"

Ellis slumped a bit, making Raven groan, trying to keep him balanced, "A little help?"

Nick quickly came forward, grabbing Ellis by his unoccupied side and held him up like Raven until she successfully came out from underneath him. Ellis then leaned heavily into Nick, lightly chuckling with the motion, his eyes lidded low, "I'm gonna puke if ya'll don't sstop…" he murmured, his words dragging out a bit.

Nick groaned, dragging the inebriated hick to the bedroom door, "You better do that shit in the bathroom." He warned.

Raven chuckled, "I suggest you talk out whatever issues you guys have right now. He seems pretty upset by it." She then turned to leave down the stairs.

"Wait, what'd he say?" he called to her, but she only giggled, making the turn into the living room and leaving Nick's sight.

He sighed, and then Ellis hiccupped.

He glanced down to the mechanic and tried not to smirk as he saw him grinning back, like they hadn't even had an argument to begin with.

"Let's get you to bed, Sport." He commented, starting to turn them into the room.

Ellis suddenly giggled, as if in response to his statement, "Yea."

Once in the room, Nick leaned down to let Ellis sit on the bed, but as he leant down, Ellis' hands around his neck only tightened, and it seemed he wasn't going to let go.

Nick frowned a bit, "Gotta let go, Kid." He murmured, pulling up with his back a bit to emphasize.

There was a second of almost hesitation, as if Ellis planned to actually do something, but he eventually let go, letting his body flop down onto the mattress with a hum.

Nick sighed and shook his head staring down at the mechanic whose humming turned into a slight melody. Had their argument really caused him to get smashed? "What's the matter, Kid…" he had mostly spoken to himself, knowing Ellis wasn't in the right mind to comprehend, much less respond accurately.

Whatever tune he was humming ceased, and he lazily lifted his head up to look at Nick, "I'm depressed…"

Well, not _entirely_ in the right mind.

Nick cocked his head to the side, closing the bedroom door behind him. "Tell me why." He said, coming over to the bed and sitting down on the edge beside him. He eyed Ellis hard as he lifted himself first to his elbows then sat up completely.

His whole form seemed to wobble a bit as he tried to form the right words, "I cain't talk t'ya…and you won't let me talk to Raven…'bout stuff…" he paused to swallow something in his throat, staring intensely at the door.

"And there's a lot I wanna talk about…" his head then lolled to the side, loosely as he then looked to Nick, "But nooo…I'm stuck with ya'll…" he frowned, almost scowling at Nick, but the effect was lost when he hiccupped again.

"What can't you talk to me about?" Nick asked, shifting slightly to look more directly at Ellis, slightly concerned. How much information could he get out of Ellis like this? And how much would he remember in the morning…?

Ellis chuckled, "A lotta sstuff, man." He slurred.

Nick's brows furrowed, he wasn't about to give up. He nudged Ellis with his elbow, just a bit, "Tell me. I won't be mad." He tacked on the last part, suspecting that was part of the reason why the Kid felt like he couldn't talk with him.

Ellis chuckled a bit, "Naw, you'll probably be scared…" he chuckled again, falling back to his elbows.

One brow raised high on Nick's forehead. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. At the same time though, a smirk spread across his lips. This was such a stupid idea, but he just had to.

With a voice full of concern, Nick spoke to Ellis, "C'mon, buddy, you can tell me." And twisted his body to the side to let his hand rest on the mechanic's abdomen and let it travel up his body in a soothing rub.

Ellis reacted exquisitely, blushing furiously as he stuttered a response, "O-Okay." And tried to edge back from the touch, though his movements were clearly torn on whether he wanted to stay and endure it or not.

With the way Nick leaned into the touch, it brought his face closer to Ellis', so he could whisper his next question, "Are you still mad at me, Kid?"

Ellis visibly shivered, his lip quivering as he tried to respond, "I-I…not…not really…"

Nick smirked, "I'm sorry about all that stuff I said. Could you ever forgive me?" If Ellis had been sober, he would have heard the almost sarcastic tone Nick used, and probably would've taken offense.

Ellis visibly swallowed, his breathing quickened, "Y-yea, I forgive'ya, Nick…" he answered, his own hand traveling up and placing itself on Nick's hand, the one that sat rested on Ellis' chest.

Nick had eyed Ellis' hand as it moved, it being a bit slow, and smiled as it came over his. This was a dangerous game he was playing. He had no way of telling how much of this Ellis was going to remember, and there was no telling how he'd act in the morning, besides having a massive hangover.

But it had been a long time for the gambler, and the prospect of fooling around with the kid was an exciting one, even if it meant getting a slap in the morning.

Not like he wasn't used to that.

There was probably a reason why he wasn't informed about the booze earlier. Probably having to do with the incident back in the Swamps, before they were picked up by Virgil the next day.

There had been a stash of what seemed like everything in the lounge of the plantation house they took refuge in. Whisky, beer, liquor, everything. Unfortunately for Nick, he had a sweet tooth for the stuff, and having not had a drink in a while, he'd over done it. There wasn't much he could remember of that night, except a few snippets. Those few snippets consisted of harsh harassment on Rochelle, and a few things he regretted even today. The only person who knows of the full extent of what went down was Rochelle, and she'd shut up like a clamp after that night.

In fact, besides a good punch to the jaw, Nick couldn't recall having any conversation with her until they were getting ready to leave Virgil's boat in search of fuel.

Nick's eyes went half lidded as he gazed upon Ellis' seemingly pliant form, "Good." He responded, a sultry edge to his tone, a tone of which didn't go unnoticed by Ellis.

He blinked slowly, his breath coming out in shutters as he tried shifting again, but when he pulled his hand away from Nick's, the gambler had his opportunity to reach around the mechanic and set his body more firmly against him.

Ellis' eyes didn't necessarily go wide with shock, but his body reacted in the only way it knew how at the moment, which was to press back in return, and upturn his face to the gambler, panting softly as he stared at him.

Nick smirked, quickly finding this situation to be getting better and better…

But then he felt something…

It was like a prickle at the back of his throat, the warning signs of strep…

Guilt.

Even before he'd done the deed, Nick was already feeling guilty. What he'd done to Rochelle came back in full force, making his efforts come to a grinding halt.

"Fuck…" Nick turned away from Ellis, unable to look him in his hazed, blood shot eyes. He couldn't do it. And this was the first time he could actually say that he would feel bad for fucking someone drunk.

Christ, what had gotten into him…

He sighed heavily, his arm that had wrapped itself around Ellis slowly retracting. He knew Ellis wanted it, drunk or not, but this wasn't the right way. He didn't want Ellis to be even angrier with him in the morning for taking advantage of him.

"N-Nick?" Ellis stuttered, his hand coming up to paw against Nick's chest.

Nick slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry." And slumped onto his back beside Ellis. "I'm sorry." He repeated, dragging a hand down his face.

Ellis' brows furrowed, getting off his elbows to look at Nick on the bed. "Wha'dya mean'yer sorry?" It was Ellis' angry tone that gave Nick rise, pulling his hand away to look at the mechanic quizzically.

Ellis' body language said he was about to attack him or something, but before Nick could put his hands up in protest, "El?"

Ellis was lifting himself up, wobbly and off balanced as he was, he still managed to straddle Nick's hips, placing himself firmly in Nick's lap, not budging.

"El-Ellis, what the hell?!" Nick was truly shocked, having not expected Ellis to actually do something like this, so unafraid. His hands had reached up to try and push Ellis from his lap, or make him fall over to the side.

But the mechanic wasn't having it, and his eyes seemed to mist even further, his face setting into a raw determination, something that looked uncharacteristically focused and concentrated.

And then he began to rut.

"Ahhh…" Ellis had softly moaned, his hips having grinded down against Nick and forward, creating a sloppy pattern of rubbing himself against the baffled gambler.

"SHIT, Ellis, _get off_!" Nick demanded, pushing against Ellis' hips with his hands, trying to make his gyrations stop. But it was no use. Ellis had set his hands on Nick's shoulders, rooting him down, and continued his bawdy display.

"Nick…" he muttered, biting his lip afterward. God, Nick could feel Ellis' erection against his thigh and lower abdomen every time he came down to rub himself in a long slide.

No, he had to stop this, right now, or he could never forgive himself.

"Ellis, I swear to God, I don't want to hurt you…" he practically growled at him, pushing harder against his hips warningly. He'd have to knock him off, sending him to the ground, if he didn't stop.

That's when Ellis decided to come down to steal a kiss from Nick's confused lips, humming softly with the contact.

"Fuuhg!" was all that came from Nick's muffled lips before he violently shoved at Ellis, pushing him right off his hips and backwards onto the floor.

The mechanic landed with a loud _thud_, quickly looking up at Nick, confused and somewhat hurt, though obviously not from the fall. That had effectively snapped him out of it, and he was stammering and rambling like a child caught sneaking in the cookie jar, "N-Nick, I'm so s-sorry, I…don't know-"

But Nick only sighed, standing up and sticking a hand out to Ellis' face. At first, Ellis wasn't sure what he was doing, but after Nick reached down and practically yanked one of Ellis' hands up, Ellis started standing with the help of the gambler.

"Just get some sleep, Sport." He ordered and then shoved Ellis back as he stood, making the younger fall onto the bed, face first. He'd yelped when he was shoved, but remained on his face once he'd landed, seemingly too embarrassed to move.

Nick slowly shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. This had turned into one hell of a night.

He thought about heading down stairs, see if there was a place for him to rest down there, but he eventually thought against it. After all that, he suddenly found himself too tired to be concerned if Ellis tried that again.

One brow rose as he looked back over the lying Georgian. He really had no idea he had that in him.

But one thing was for sure.

It looked like neither of them would be allowed to have any alcohol for a long time.


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry for the sort of _lacking _chapter, but I sort of hit a road block creatively. I'm gonna end the chapter the way it is and pick back up on a part I have more planned out. You won't be missing much, trust me :I

**(BLD)**

It was a searing pain, almost everywhere, and Ellis had a distinct feeling in his stomach that told him to roll the hell off of it immediately. He groaned, deep in the back of his throat, as he slowly rolled, but he'd lifted his head to be greeted with the blinding light of day.

He practically hissed as he quickly rolled to the other side, shielding his eyes from the harsh light that leaked through the boards on the window.

He felt like shit. And he had a distinct feeling he'd done something extremely stupid last night, because as he opened his eyes for a second time, he saw Nick staring at him from the other side of the bed. He looked concerned, though he had a feeling it wasn't for his well-being.

Just then a stab of pain ran through his head, signaling him of his massive head ache. Great.

He slowly ran his hand through his mussed hair soothingly, groaning a tad more silently. He wasn't even sure how much he had last night, but he knew it was too much. That much was for sure.

"How you feelin, Ace?" Nick asked, no sort of snarky humor hidden in his words, and it actually sounded concerned. Something Ellis would've realized and appreciated if he hadn't been concentrating on not throwing up in the bed.

He tossed the blanket off his body and made himself slowly stand, getting ready to head to the bathroom.

"I ain't no million bucks, that's for damn sure." He'd answered, his hand slowly rubbing down his front, over his chest and stomach till it rested at his slightly quivering abdomen.

Nick chuckled, though it was a short and barely audible one, he sent a hand behind his head, scratching at the nape of his neck, as he spoke up, "So, what exactly do you remember from last night?" it was an innocent enough question. It could've meant a number of things.

"I remember drinkin like a fish… but I don't remember gettin up here." Half way through answering, Ellis made a face, and suddenly he was bolting to the bathroom, where he proceeded to puke his guts out. For some unknown reason, whenever Ellis got hammered, he'd be sure to puke the next morning. It aggravated the shit out of him and whoever he'd spent the night with.

It made Nick cringe to hear Ellis toss his cookies, but he knew the Kid probably needed the comfort right now, so he slowly stood from his perch on the side of the bed, having already woken not too long before and dressed for the day.

He came into the barely lit bathroom and bent just a bit at the waist so he could set a hand on the heaving mechanic's back, rubbing in small circles.

In a break between his vomiting, Nick told Ellis, "When you're done, I'll get you an ibuprofen." And Ellis looked up to give him a small look, his mouthing dripping just from the lip, though with the way his face was at the moment, he couldn't decipher Nick's true intent.

He only nodded, running his forearm along his mouth as he breathed heavily, his arms shaking as he held the toilet bowl, prepped for round two. He knew he'd told himself this over a million times, but this time he was sure.

"I ain't drinkin again for the rest of my-" he managed to mumble out, but round two had caught up to him, and he was hunched again, his face in the porcelain.

It was another few minutes until Nick could speak again, though he was sure now was not the time for something like this, it'd been bottled up for so long, he was bursting at the seams to finally get it out after he'd spent all night thinking about it.

Ellis had whimpered softly, just panting into the toilet, his eyes shut tightly, small tears running down his cheeks, when he heard Nick clear his throat. He leaned up just enough to glance sideways over his shoulder to listen.

"Hoyt." It was all the gambler said, and for a moment, Ellis wasn't sure he'd heard him right.

"Wha?" he spat what was lining his mouth and brought his face out more, confused.

"Nicolas Hoyt." Nick repeated, adding his full first name. "You seemed really adamant about it… so I figured…" he trailed off, glancing to the side as not to keep eye contact. He hadn't known that that was the way Ellis had thought about not knowing his full name. It guilted him all through the night.

And just as Nick was hoping, Ellis had to turn back into the toilet before he could even make a comment. He'd rather let this little thing go unnoticed, but he had a feeling this would come up again sometime in the future. That was a conversation that was going to be all too uncomfortable for Nick. He wasn't necessarily the type to break down and tell someone that they deserved to know certain things about him.

* * *

It had been half an hour before Ellis felt confident enough to take the pill, and then slowly sipped on the water Nick had gotten him.

"Well, I was planning on actually doing something productive today, but since you decided to take it upon yourself to make yourself useless, this is just gonna have to be another catch up day." Nick gripped, though not whole heartedly.

They'd both come down stairs, and even though Ellis wasn't going to be eating anything for a while, he still sat on the couch with Nick, slowly rubbing at his eyes. He groaned lowly at his comment, not entirely in the mood to hear it from Nick. It was partly his fault anyway.

Raven sat Indian style in front of the couch, scooping mouth fulls of pineapple slices into her maw, slack jawed as she talked, "Hey, cut him a break." She chided Nick. Her clothes had been washed, and the padding had been wiped clean, so Raven had dressed back into her light green button up and shorts. Her sword sat at the ready, propped up against the wall by the door, and her rifle had been given back and was fully loaded. Her ammo carrier sat on the coffee table, next to her cleaned goggles, ready to be put back on.

Nick only rolled his eyes, eating another ravioli. Instead of going out to the boat today, he decided to fill Raven in on their plan, finally.

"Whatever. There's something more important worth talking about anyway." He'd announced.

Raven raised a brow, "Oh really. What then?" There was a slight edge of something to her tone, something closely related to anxiety.

"It's our plan. That boat you saw the other day? Yea, we're takin that thing across the river." Nick informed Raven as nonchalantly as he could, as if he was going to tell her eventually… although he'd hoped she'd be gone before then.

That small edge of whatever it was left Raven upon hearing the news, and it seemed her shoulders relaxed in relief. This conversation was obviously not about what she thought it was going to be.

"What's on the other side of the river?"

Nick shrugged, "Honestly? We don't know. But what we do know is that there was a military outpost on the other side of the bridge, and we're hoping that since they left in such a rush, they might've left a few things behind." Nick paused to eat another ravioli, as he chewed he made a few hand gestures, then swallowed, "But the threat of finding something we weren't expecting still lingers. I got a few pipe bombs, that'll probably help if there's some sort of barricade, but other than that, we're just gonna have to get over there first before we plan anything else." Nick concluded.

Raven nodded, letting this new information sink in. If there were things on the other side of the river, they could probably be set for a while.

Just then, though, Ellis growled and the both of them looked over to see Ellis furiously pulling at his own hair, "I need a fuckin hair cut…" he grumbled. He must've been trying to sweep it out of his eyes and it just wasn't sticking.

Raven chuckled lightly and started to stand. "I think I saw some scissors in the kitchen. Give me a sec." and before either man could question just what she was alluding to, she was already moving, heading into the kitchen where she began to rifle through drawers.

"Ah-ha." They heard come softly from Raven.

Ellis looked to Nick, and the older man smirked, "I guess she's gonna give you a haircut." He told him, shrugging.

A minute later, Raven came back into the living room and beckoned Ellis over with a curling finger, "Believe it or not, I was actually a cosmetology major." She smirked, and after Ellis stood, she headed back into the kitchen.

Nick outright laughed, having not expected a girl like her doing nails and hair for a living. He stood too, wanting to see this.

Raven was in the middle of filling a small bowl with water, and then once filled set it off to the side. "Hold on, I need to find a comb or something." She commented, and headed back to the downstairs bathroom.

Ellis looked over what Raven had gathered a bit skeptically, "I hope she passed her hair cuttin class."

Nick laughed again, patting Ellis on the back. "No promises."

Once Raven had returned, she set out two combs, one bigger than the other, and the other with finer teeth. She then brought a chair up to the sink, setting the back against the cabinets under the sink, "Have a seat." She instructed Ellis, stepping around him to grab the table cloth off the table.

Ellis slowly took a seat, not entirely convinced he actually wanted Raven to do this for him. It really was awfully nice of her to give him a cut, but maybe she didn't exactly know what she was doing…

Raven came back up to him and set the table cloth around his neck, pinching them tight, and she must've found a baby pin or something, because he could feel her fiddle with the back of it, and the cloth suddenly stuck close to his neck.

She came in front of him and made sure the cloth came draping over his legs and patted it down and into place. "Oh, yea…" she suddenly turned back around, as if she'd just remembered something and was heading back into the bathroom.

Nick was smirking as he just stared at Ellis, looking almost pitiful as he was practically strapped in the chair, "What if she gives you an accidental-" "I don't wanna hear none'a that mess." Ellis quickly interrupted Nick's comment, slowly shaking his head as he stared at the clothed bulge that indicated where his hands rested on his lap.

But now that they had a quiet moment together, Ellis looked up to Nick, smiling softly, "Thanks, Nick."

A brow raised sharply across Nick's forehead, "What exactly for?" though as soon as he asked it, he realized he knew the answer.

"Ellis King." Was all the mechanic had answered with, and then they held gazes for a moment, a small little moment, both of them looking a bit relieved but for different reasons. Nick's lids lowered, his lips forming a taut line. He wasn't sure how to respond.

But he wouldn't get to, because Raven came back into the kitchen shortly after, a bottle of shampoo in hand.

"A quick wash and I'll get those bangs out of your eyes, alright?" she smiled to Ellis, setting the bottle on the counter. Ellis chuckled, nodding, "Alright. Just hope you know what'cher doin…"

Raven laughed, "Hey, I'll give you a buzz cut if you don't shut it." She joked, turning the faucet on behind Ellis, setting it to a warm temperature.

Ellis rolled his eyes, not believing her threat for a moment, but then glanced over at Nick. Instead of being greeted with a smirk or grin like he'd expected, Nick was simply staring at the ground, though a bit intensely.


End file.
